The Templar Informant (Norah)
by Anime-Angel-Seza
Summary: She should have realised it was inevitable one of the two orders would discover her snooping, she just wished it was the one that had 'not killing the innocent' as part of their creed. ShayxOC, Rating changed to M just in case
1. Prologue: Inevitability

Prologue

I suppose I should have realised the inevitability of my being discovered. When I first caught sight of Shay Patrick Cormac and Liam O'Brien in early 1752 saving a group of smugglers, I should have let my curiosity be. When I accidentally stumbled upon Haytham Kenway and Charles Lee in late 1754 on their search for the Native woman, who nicknamed herself Ziio for the ease of the English, I should have realised that my curiosity about the war between the Assassins and the Templars may just be my downfall.

Despite the extensive research I undertook to learn more about these interesting, but very dangerous people, I could never be prepared for what would happen should at least one side discover my snooping. So I really should have realised that I would inevitably be discovered by either Templar or Assassin for my stupid curiosity, but I still seriously wished that it was the Assassins that found me; at least not killing the innocent is part of their creed. I at least give myself a pat on the back for lasting eight years before their discovery.

* * *

Okay, so I've had ideas for multiple AC fanfics floating around in my head, and this one was my favourite idea so far. I will write the others eventually, but I wanted to start with this one. I originally was going to write the whole thing before publishing because it is mostly scattered thoughts that cross over many years through out the end of Rogue and most of ACIII. I have the first two chapters pretty much done, but I started with the prologue so that I could get your thoughts on a proper title for the fic.

Norah is my OC's name and it was the only thing I could think of for a temporary title. So your ideas are welcome, and I also wanted to know what you guys thought of the fic so far even if it is barely 200 words, I'll publish the first chapter if you guys want to get a better idea of the fic. Thanks, I'll leave it at this for now otherwise there will be more AN than prologue. Any other questions, just review.

Seza, out.

p.s. I apologise to all my readers for my other fics, I will eventually get around to them


	2. 1: And the Day Inevitable Happened

Chapter 1: And the Day Inevitable Happened

January 5, 1760

In hindsight, I should not have answered the door, maybe pretended I was not home. I probably would not have been in this mess, because honestly, anyone willing to be out in this weather is suspicious. Standing right outside my door, barely two feet from me, is Shay Patrick Cormac, ex-Assassin now Templar, and Charles bloody Lee, the bastard that is seriously a snake in disguise. "Shite," was about the only dignified word I could get out in the current situation.

Lee, the git, looked mildly shocked by both my language and my accent, "You're Irish."

"Somebody give Mister Lee here a medal; my name is Norah Driscoll for Christ sake, of course I'm bloody Irish, you plonker. I may have lived here in the Colonies since I was a wee lass, but I still have the Irish blood running through my veins. I did not take you as Irish hating considering you are allied with one, you know, the man standing right next to you," despite how much I was panicking about their presence, I had a serious hatred for anyone who insulted my heritage, and although his comment was not supposed to be an insult, I was happy for another reason to hate the man.

"You seem to know a lot about us lass," I tried very hard not to roll my eyes at Shay's comment, is that not why they were here, but I suppose he was stopping Lee from undoubtedly pulling his sword on me.

"I was under the impression you were here because I knew a lot about you and your stupid war with the Assassins," I swear, if they were here for another reason and I just gave myself away, I am going to kill myself now.

"Aye, that we are, it came as quite the surprise when we discovered that some map making woman here in New York had been snooping on us for the past however many years. We have been sent by Master Kenway to find out exactly how much you know and what you plan on doing with that information."

So realistically this could go either way for me, if they decide I know too much, I might just end up food for the wolves, but if I can convince them I am really only curious, they might let me live. However, I am not stupid enough to think they will just leave me be; I may keep my life, but not necessarily my freedom. Weighing my options, I realise telling the truth is most likely the best course of action. "Well gentlemen, I will not go telling you fibs, as I know that is not a smart move; I will be straight with you by saying I probably know too much for your order to be comfortable with, especially for someone outside of it," I pause momentarily to ensure they are not going to draw their swords and cut me down where I stand. "However, I would like to point out that I am not a threat to you or your order. My research and ever-growing knowledge of you Templars merely stems from curiosity."

I am not entirely sure how much they believe me about my simple curiosity as Lee, in fact, looks disbelieving and Shay simply looks like he could use more details. It was Lee who asked for clarification however, "And what, pray tell, makes you so curious?"

I suppose now was a better time than any to be completely blunt, "There were two events that made me curious, both of which involve one of you each," I did not give either of them time to interject before continuing. "The first time was in 1752 when I happened to witness you Mister Cormac and your old friend Mister Liam O'Brien save a bunch of smugglers from the Royal Navy. The second event, the event that solidified my curiosity, was in 1754 when I stumbled upon yourself Mister Lee and your Grand Master looking for the Native woman. I heard the words 'assassin' and 'templar' thrown around multiple times during both events. So, I started my research, and let us just say, when you have as much access to the frontier and the cities as I do, it is not hard to learn things."

I probably doomed myself with that last statement, but I figure I would look more innocent by being so honest with them. I have reached the stage where if I lived, I would be a very happy woman. Both men looked pensive, and I could not figure out what my fate may be simply by looking at their expressions. It felt like hours before Shay finally spoke up, "Perhaps you should come with us lass, we can find out what the Grand Master wants to do with you there."

I could not say I was shocked, I knew that even if they let me live, they may not let me go free; did not stop me from being completely freaked out though. I clearly had that fear written all over my face because Lee tried to make me feel better; tried being the operative word. "Do not worry Miss Driscoll, we are not taking you there to kill you," but even I could hear the underlying 'yet' in his tone.

In the end, I found myself being escorted to Fort George in between two terrifying Templars. What did I ever do to deserve this? I am an honest woman with an honest job; I cannot help it if I am naturally curious. At least Shay was gentlemanly enough to hold my umbrella so that I could, unsuccessfully, protect the hem of my skirts from the muddy ground; my shoes, unfortunately, are completely ruined. If I did happen to survive this, I wonder if I can convince Mister Kenway to force Lee to replace my ruined clothing and shoes. Probably not. Hopefully, these men are willing to lend me a pair of trousers and a shirt; I have no conniptions about wearing men's clothing.

I could see the towering walls of Fort George rising ahead of us, and if I am honest with myself; it looked terrifying in the rain, looks a lot like my imminent doom. Sensing my discomfort, Shay moved my umbrella to his right hand so that he could place his arm on the small of my back to encourage me forward; I am not entirely sure if this is supposed to be a gesture of comfort or just to ensure I do not stop, however, I was surprisingly comforted none-the-less. "Do not worry lass, everything will be fine."

I give him a raised eyebrow before speaking, "I am no idiot Mister Cormac, even if your Grand Master decides to spare my life, I am very well aware that I will lose my freedom for the foreseeable future. I do have one request though."

"And what might that be?"

"My skirts are covered in mud and there is no hope for my shoes, if it is not too much trouble, I would very much like to borrow some clothes until I am either dead or have access to my other clothes," I have never been a pessimist, but I am being realistic, I am either going to die or be locked up. I would at least like to be presentable when either of those events happen.

"The only clothing I can offer up are men's clothes, probably all too big for you lass," despite the skepticism I could hear in his tone, I could tell that he was also amused at the prospect of seeing me drown in men's clothing.

"I am well aware of this Mister Cormac, however, they will do," when he raised his eye brow I felt I needed to defend myself. "You don't really think I am the sort of girl who wears dresses at all times. I would not be able to do much if I wore dresses out in the frontier; nothing would get done."

"Very well lass," he chuckles. "Once we get you situated in a room, I will bring you some of my clothing, you will basically be swallowed by them, but you clearly do not seem to mind."

"Thank you Mister Cormac," and as we finished this conversation, we came upon the gates to Fort George and my fear returned, accompanied by the rain turning from an annoying drizzle to bucketing down.

As I anticipated, Shay's clothing basically engulfed me; the disadvantages of being a small woman I suppose. I used a belt to ensure the pants were not going to slide down my hips, and rolled up both the sleeves of the shirt and the length of the trousers. I tried to make the outfit look as dignified as possible before Shay and Lee return with Master Kenway; I may not particularly like the man, by I at least wanted to look presentable for a man like him. I somehow succeed to create a somewhat dignified look that I am happy with despite not wearing shoes and decide to sit down on one of the chairs in the room while I wait. Now that I did not have clothing to focus on, all the emotions I feel about the situation come flooding back; apprehension, fear, worry, mild annoyance and a few minor emotions.

I realise my hair is a complete mess, so I decide to focus on that to push away all the terrible thoughts floating around in my mind. Despite having a physically demanding occupation, and needing to be traveling quite a bit, I still insisted on having my blonde, curly hair long. It reached the middle of my back and when I was out working, I usually have it braided and twisted onto the top of my head, but Shay and Lee had come while I was relaxing at home and it had been loose. Using a strip of cloth I rip off my damaged dress, I plait my hair down my front and tie it off with the cloth. Looking and feeling a lot better, I am thankful that the men were only now returning as I could hear their feet outside the door.

Shay was the one who opened the door and let in the one and only Haytham Kenway, Grand Master of the Colonial Rite of Templars. I am ashamed to say that he is a lot more intimidating close up; especially when he is looking at you with his piercing eyes that make me feel as if he is going to kill me without question. I was so busy being scared of those eyes that when he speaks, I cannot help but slightly jump at his voice. "Miss Driscoll, Charles and Shay tell me that although you know a lot more than you should, you claim to only know this information to settle your own curiosity. Is that correct?"

Despite my fear, I somehow manage to summon enough courage to answer the question, "Aye Master Kenway, that is correct; my curiosity lead me to researching everything I could about both your order and the Assassin Order. I was unfortunately born with a natural curiosity of things, hence my occupation. So when I stumbled upon Mister Cormac and Mister O'Brien, and later yourself and Mister Lee, I could not help myself from digging deep into the war between the two Orders. I suppose I should have realised one of your orders would find out about me."

This causes a tilt in Kenway's eyebrow before he continues, "You know so much, but you insist you are not a threat to us; how can we be sure you will not go off to the Assassins and tell them everything you know?"

"What use would that do me anyway? Mister Cormac has almost completely destroyed the Colonial Assassins, not to mention I neither agree nor disagree with either Order. In fact, I am completely neutral, and before you ask why, I will tell you," I stop them from interrupting as I could see Lee getting ready to do just that. "The reason I am neutral is because I can see the faults in both Orders, I admire every Templar and Assassin for their strong beliefs in their cause, but I could never fully believe in either. Although both causes have their good points, the fact that neither cause has a midway point makes them both faulty. You Templars believe in order, but your means involve taking away people's free will. The Assassins believe in freedom, but complete freedom over your own life causes chaos and disorder. If I had any belief it is the midway point, where people have someone to lead them without oppression, where they can choose how they live their lives, but a world where there is law so that there will be order amongst the chaos."

"You seem to have given this a lot of thought Miss Driscoll," I thought I heard a level of surprise in his tone, but I might have imagined it among my unrelenting fear of the man.

"I have had eight years of research and watching both orders to think about it. So yes, I have given it a lot of thought. Eight years may not be a long time to you considering how long this war has been waged, but it is enough for me to know what I think and believe about all of it," I just hoped my little philosophical speech did not get me killed.

Thankfully, the Grand Master did not look inclined to kill me anytime soon, so I was safe for now. He seemed to spend hours, but must have barely been minutes, thinking about his next course of action, I cannot say I am surprised by his following words, "I am sure you will be happy to know I will not kill you Miss Driscoll, but I need you to understand that we cannot simply let you go free in light of this situation."

"I figured as much, I am no idiot, I know how your Order operates, I expected nothing less, so I will not make a fuss nor complain on three conditions, if I may," when he inclined his head to allow me to say my three conditions I continued. "First, you do not try to induct me into your Order, my views on this war will never change; second, you let me continue my work, I would be gone in the head before long with nothing to do; and finally, if you want information from me regarding the Assassins, do not expect any of it to entail the leading up to the death of anyone, Assassin or innocent. You let me have these conditions and I will willingly become a sort of informant for you; my occupation involves traveling, and I hear many things that may be of interest to you."

I kept my focus on Kenway to show my conviction, and I was not too sure I wanted to see Lee's feelings on the idea. I could see the gears turn in his head; he appeared to give my conditions a lot of thought. "Very well Miss Driscoll, I will abide by your conditions if you abide by a few of mine," despite my initial hesitation, I nodded my head. "You inform either Charles, Shay or myself about your every travel, and within the walls of the Fort you go nowhere by yourself outside of your own quarters, also, if your travels take you anywhere near the Davenport Homestead, you are to be accompanied by someone of my choosing without any complaints, agreed?"

In the end I knew that was the best I was going to get, and in the long run, these conditions were not too bad considering I was also getting my way. "Okay then Master Kenway, I can abide by those conditions."

"Good, we have a spare room in the Fort that Shay will direct you to, it is getting late and I am sure you are tired. I will send someone to collect your things from your house and they will be brought here, that way you do not need to continue to drown in Shay's clothing."

I somehow managed to not visibly show my embarrassment at the statement, and in the end he was right; I am knackered and could really use the sleep. So I simply inclined my head at Kenway before following Shay to what would now be my new living quarters. "So lass, seeing as you will be staying here and your clothing will be brought by tomorrow, you can keep my clothes to sleep in for the time being. You can return them when you no longer require them," I thought this rather kind of him, but I already knew he was not the git that Lee was, so I was not completely shocked.

"Thank you Mister Cormac, that is very kind of you," somehow I figured that as long as Shay was around, I would not really mind my stay inside this foreboding Fort.

"You are welcome lass, and I suppose that now that we are basically allies, you can call me Shay."

I had already mentally been calling him Shay, so it was not too hard to agree to that, "I can do that, as long as you call me Norah."

He simply smirked in response before he led me to a door, "This will be your room, Norah," he smirked again while saying my name. "I hope it is to your liking, I will see you again in the morning."

With that he walked back the way we came and left me to my own devices.

* * *

Okay, so as you can see, I decided to put up chapter 1 anyway, I'm hoping this helps you guys think of a possible title for the fic. I am curious to hear what you guys think of the fic so far as well, so far, only the next chapter is completed, but I'll at least wait until tomorrow to maybe put it up, however, everything after that is mostly bits and pieces and will only go up when I have solid chapters. When that is, I can't say for I don't know, I want to get everything that is in my head typed up so that I don't forget anything and then I will fill in the gaps. Anyway, thanks guys.

Seza, out


	3. 2: Of Voyages and First Encounters

Chapter 2: Of Voyages and First Encounters

Late February, 1760

Just over a month had passed since I first starting living amongst the Templars, and when Shay is around, it is not completely terrible. Also, despite the new living arrangements and almost constant babysitter, my life went on as normal with work taking up most of my time. Although, the recent week or so has not been so normal.

We had been at sea a while now; I had honestly lost track of the date, especially since I had spent the majority of the trip wondering what the bloody hell Kenway was thinking when he told me to join Shay on his current Assassin hunt. I knew we were tracking the remaining Assassins, hoping to stop them before they reached another precursor temple. However, I am no Templar; this is not my fight, not to mention I am useless to them in battle. So I have come to question the Grand Master's reasoning for my being here, mostly because he never gave me one.

So far, all that had happened is that Shay had found an encrypted map of the route the Assassins were taking, and with the help of Captain James Cook, we were following that route. However, I knew what these Assassins are like, and I can only imagine they know that Shay is coming. This has me worried that we could be sailing into a trap, but Shay does not listen to what I have to say and despite how much this frustrates me; there is nothing I can do. So I spend the majority of the trip just looking out over the sea and ignoring Shay altogether, I was pissed off with him and if that meant that I had no one to talk to; then so be it.

I look over to the helm of the ship, and I see the usual sight; Shay steering with Mister Gist standing to his right and Captain Cook to his left. I could see they were talking, but being at the bow of the Morrigan meant that I could not hear a single word they say. However, the all too usual noises of the ship were being drowned out by an ever louder growing noise. I face forward again and see that we are steering straight into a snow storm; I thought it was cold enough until we finally reached the rapid winds, thank god I was wearing my shirt and trousers and not a dress. "Miss Driscoll, the Captain wishes to speak to you," I turn to face the deckhand that had spoken.

I merely nod at him before making my way to Shay. As soon as I was near enough, he started speaking, "Norah, this storm does not look like it is going to let up anytime soon, and I think we may be coming up on the expedition; I think it is best you go inside where it is both warmer and safer."

"Fine," was the only word I was willing to grace him with, despite how childish I was acting, before I returned to the Captain's Quarters where Shay had let me stay for the duration of the voyage. Admittedly, it was warmer in here and I was thankful for it, I have never been one for the cold, mostly because it impedes on my work; it is hard to map anything when paths and rock formations are covered by snow.

I suddenly hear what sounds like cannon fire in the distance and I hope we were not sailing anywhere near it; however, the fact that the noise was growing louder meant that we were, in fact, getting closer. I think I vaguely here Mister Gist's voice above yelling for everyone to brace; who was I to disobey something like that. I feel the Morrigan rock from side to side as I hear what sounds like cannon balls hitting the water around us. I then hear Cook shout something that sounded a lot like 'ambush.' Well how bloody grand is that, I swear, if I live through this, I am going to eat Kenway's head off; he's going to get the biggest talking to he has ever witnessed.

The cannon fire seems to stop, but not five minutes later, I hear cannon fire again, but this time; it is coming from us. "Shit, shit, shit, shit, Kenway, you are a dead man if I live through this, just you wait."

I feel the ship rock when we are undoubtedly hit by return fire, so I find a little spot where I can hide and pray that we do not die. The battle seems to last what seems like hours, but could only have been ten minutes. The only reason I know we have won is the cheers I hear coming from the crew on deck. I do not come out however, as it is barely one minute later when I hear gun fire and I can only imagine the battle has turned from ship warfare to guns and swords. This only means that I am potentially still not safe. This battle does not last as long as the ship one does and before long, the gunfire stops. I wait a few more minutes before making my way outside.

To say the Morrigan was in bad shape was an understatement; she was covered in broken wood and I think she was a few cannons less on deck. I look around for Shay and I find him mid-swing on his way back on board the Morrigan. He was covered in blood and so was his sword, it was unsettling to say the least; like I keep saying, I am not a fighter, and I am going to make Kenway regret this very bullocks idea. "Norah? Are you okay lass?" his voice makes me jump and I look up to his face to see him staring at me with concern.

"Bloody god dammit, yes I am okay, you are the one covered in blood Shay, I should be asking if you are okay," I figured recent events meant that I was willing to talk to him again.

"I am fine Norah, nothing I cannot handle; you however, are not used to this. I told Master Kenway it would be a bad idea to bring you, my current mission is too dangerous," and despite telling him I was fine, he grabbed my chin, turning my head this way and that to check for injuries.

"I am fine Shay, I found a little hole to hide in for the duration of the fight," it was a very good hole, because I did not even get a single splinter hiding in it. "Just tell me what happened."

"You were right," I barely had time to be shocked by this statement before he continues. "They knew I was coming, Liam and Achilles are already gone; Chevalier was a distraction and the precursor box is gone. They are headed for the temple now, and they have a head start. I am afraid I do not have time to take you somewhere safe, you are going to have to come with me still."

A mixture of his acknowledging I was right and the fact that he looked completely shattered meant that it was easy for me to completely forgive him for not listening in the first place. "It is okay Shay, let us just go and catch up to them then."

We had barely said goodbye to Captain Cook when Master Kenway joined us from another ship. As you can imagine, I was still right pissed off. Gist is the first to acknowledge him, "Master Kenway."

Shay automatically starts updating him while I continue to stew behind him, "Le Vérendrye is dead, I have the coordinates; I know where the Assassins are going."

Kenway nods, "Then, let us make haste," he pauses in his walk to the stern when he sees me and how absolutely livid I am. "Miss Driscoll, I do apologise for the danger you apparently found yourself in, however, I needed you on this voyage because I am afraid there would be no one back in New York who could keep an eye on you."

I was a mixture of disbelieving and even angrier; that was it, he put me in danger simply because there would be no one back home to babysit me. I decided I did not know how to respond to that, so I simply glared before returning to Shay's quarters. The last thing I hear is Shay's comment, "I think she may be pissed off," before I slam the door on them all. So much for the biggest talking to he has ever witnessed.

Early March, 1760

"Do you think Achilles and Liam have found the precursor site?" is what I hear from Shay when I exit his quarters.

I had come out to investigate why we had stopped. From what I can see, we have reached our destination. "Well the world is still standing," is Kenway's response. "If they uncovered it, they have not yet set the Earth in motion."

I can see that both he and Shay are heading for the gangplank that has been extended onto the ground. Gist starts to follow them, "How gentlemanly of them."

"It could still be time," Kenway says before turning to face Gist. "Master Gist, stay here, I shall accompany Shay."

Gist seemed to be as put out by this statement as I was, "Sir, with respect, are you sure that's wise?"

Kenway moves towards him in order to explain, "As Grand Master, I must investigate this precursor matter to the end and witness the death of Achilles' Brotherhood. "

Gist only nods before stepping back. Just before Shay and Kenway leave, Kenway turns back around to address both myself and Mister Gist again, "Also, Master Gist, keep an eye on Miss Driscoll, if you happen to be discovered by the Assassins, make sure that she is safe."

He does not wait for a reply before he catches up to Shay and before long, they both disappear into the glaring white ice. I felt a feeling of foreboding; where it stemmed from I do not know, but I just hope they return safely. I decided that I would brave the cold and sit on deck, watching the spot I last saw them and hoping they would both come back around that corner unharmed.

I think I had only been sitting around waiting for twenty minutes before everything starts to shake, the ice caps break and I am only thankful that we are not anchored underneath any of them. My eyes return to where I had last seen Shay and Kenway, my fear for them only heightened. I wanted so badly to go in after them, but I knew I would only either get in the way or end up dead. So with continued fear and dread, I waited. A few minutes later, I swear I hear gun shots and I only pray that neither of them is at the wrong end of those bullets.

Another couple of minutes pass before I see two bodies heading for the ship, unfortunately, only one of them is ours. Not very far from the Morrigan, Kenway tackles Achilles to the ground. I am thankful when I see Shay running a few minutes later, just in time for him to stop Kenway from killing Achilles, "NO."

In his most pompous tone, Kenway can only ask why not.

"Achilles is harmless now; a Mentor with no followers, what kind of world are we making if we cannot show mercy? Besides, he understands what these precursor sites are now; without him, the Assassins may continue their search. "

As Kenway sheathes his sword and says "Valid points," I go down to meet them, hoping to check them both for injuries. I do not get far before Kenway turns back around and shoots Achilles in the leg. The action makes me scream and take a few steps back. He walks up to Achilles, "Never forget what has happened here."

Achilles manages to say through the pain, "I won't," and as Kenway and Shay head in my direction he says as a follow up, "but the world will."

Kenway and Shay only pause momentarily before continuing their course for the Morrigan. Still in shock, all I can do is stare at Achilles and try to resist the urge to help him as I knew this would only anger Master Kenway. My view of him is suddenly blocked by Shay as he stands in front of me and gently holds my face between his hands. He must have seen the frightened look in my eyes as it was not long before his hold on my face turned into a hug. This action was all it took for the tears to fall; my sobbing was uncontrollable, so Shay had no choice but to pick me up and carry me back onto the Morrigan. I feel the soft sheets of his bed as he lays me down upon it, "It will be okay lass, Achilles is not dead, only wounded. I am also sure that Master Kenway did not wish to frighten you as such. Get some rest, these past few weeks have been a lot more than you are used to."

I had not realised how tired I was until these words lulled me into a sense of security, and before long; sleep.

November 2, 1760

Many months have passed since that dreadful voyage and I was getting sick and tired of Haytham sending me to accompany his lackeys. Today I somehow ended up going into the Frontier with all of them besides John; he was lucky enough to be called away. "Why the bloody hell are we all the way out here Charles?"

I felt the need to ask that question as we were getting far too close to the Kanien'kehá:ka village of Kanatahséton. Last time I checked, Haytham had said they would stop looking for the precursor site the Kanatahséton people were protecting. I, of course, knew why, and although the others did not, I figured they would follow his wishes. Perhaps not. "We are here to find the village and talk to their elders."

So this was not what I was expecting, and I really do not think I am going to like the reason why. I dared ask regardless, "And why in the world do you want to talk to the elders? This better not be about that precursor site the Grand Master told you to leave well enough alone."

It was William that answered me, "No my dear, we are hoping to discuss the chances of us purchasing their land, so that we may keep it protected."

Now that was definitely not what I expected, and then it clicked, I was most likely here because I knew where the village was. Well bullocks, I almost feel like turning around and making them flounder around in these woods to look for it themselves. However, I knew they would squeal to Haytham about it and I would be back to never-ending babysitting. "I hope you know I am not going to tell you where it is."

"Oh we figured as much Miss Norah, you are only here because the Master told us to keep an eye on you," the way that Benjamin says it almost makes me want to punch him in the face, he is just lucky he is nowhere near my horse.

It is times like this I wish Shay was not off looking for that damned box; if he was here, he would be watching me, and I at least enjoy myself when he is around. Sometimes I reckon the rest of them are all plonkers that only know how to suck up to Haytham. I am taken away from my angry musings when Charles suddenly stops his horse in front of us. Without warning he gets off his horse, the other three right behind him. I follow my eyes to where they are headed and that is when I see what they do; a small Mohawk child leaning against a tree. I decide to stay on my horse for now, however, that thought changes when William knocks the poor child over. When I look in their direction again, Benjamin has the poor boy at gun point; that punch to his face was becoming more imminent. "What have we here?"

It is clearly a child you dope, god I really did want to sock him one. I walk over and as the child tries to run, Charles trips him over and he rolls down a small ways to land on a flat rock. Charles goes down and rolls the child onto his back. "You look familiar, where have I seen you before?"

I walk over to them and when I see the child's face, my stomach drops and my heartbeat quickens. I knew exactly who this child was, and although he had his mother's defiant brown eyes, he was the spitting image of his father. Clearly Charles was too much of an idiot to fully recognise the child, and he easily skips over how familiar he looks when the boy spits in his face. Shite, not a good move boy. Charles glares at him before commenting, "That wasn't very nice."

He grabs the child by his arm and as he drags him towards a tree, the child screams to be let go. "Listen to that, he knows English," Charles comments as he continues to drag the boy.

I felt like calling Charles an idiot before saying that of course he knows English, his mother would have taught him. Thomas' following comment made him join Benjamin on my list of those who to sock in the face, "Smart fo' a savage."

"Spirited too," Charles adds as he pushes the boy up against the tree.

This is where I toed the line; however, as I made my way over to them, Thomas was bold enough to hold me back. Being as small and weak as I was, this was no hardship for him. "Thomas, if you do not let me go right now, you can say goodbye to your brain, you know, the one between your legs."

He only tightened his hold on me as Charles proceeded to strangle the boy, when the boy's eyes met mine, I could only try appealing to the bigger threat, "Charles you let that boy go right now," but he only ignored me as he started talking to the boy.

"We have questions for your elders, only tell us where your village is boy and you can go," considering he was choking the poor boy, I do not think he was going to answer the git.

William walks over simply to say, "Best do as he asks child."

Charles only continues on his current rant, "I could snap your neck you know, a little more pressure, and pop. The sad little frame of your life, extinguished. You are a nothing, a speck of dust, you and all your ilk," I sent a pleading look in William's direction, he sympathised with the natives, he had to do something, but he was not looking this way. "Living in the dirt like animals, oblivious to the true ways of the world, the wiser among you recognise the shape of the future; they throw themselves at our feet and beg mercy. But not you it seems, no, you cling desperately to your ways, too ignorant to know your folly, but I am not unkind," he drops the boy to the ground. "And so I spare you, that you may carry word to your people, let them know the sooner we are given what we seek, the sooner you can return to your pathetic, empty lives. A fair trade is it not?"

The boy simply looks at him, "What is your name?"

The question surprises all of us, Charles chuckles before answering, "Charles Lee, why do you ask?"

The child glares as he answers, "So I can find you."

Charles chuckles again and says, "I look forward to it."

I struggle against Thomas again when I see William walk up to the boy before he hits the child with the butt of his gun and the poor boy passes out. Thomas, realising that if I was allowed, I would certainly go up to Charles or William and give them a nice punch to the face, drags me over to his horse and forces me on before climbing up behind me. "Dammit Thomas, let me go."

"I'm 'fraid I can't do tha' Miss Norah, ye might go an' hit poor Charles, an' we can't hav' tha'. Charles, me think it best we go now. Miss Norah is not lookin' best pleased. We best get her back to the Fort," despite his attention turning to Charles, I was still unable to get free.

"That looks like a good idea Thomas, I think next time, we will do this when we do not have her with us," and with those words, Charles led us back towards New York, Benjamin trailing my horse behind him. I take one last look back at the boy and stare sorrowfully at his small, slumped over body.

I only wish we had actually continued to the village, because then maybe Ziio might still be alive.

* * *

So as you guys can see, I did end up posting chapter 2 as well, because I really couldn't help myself. You would have recognised pretty much most of the chapter as they are scenes from both Rogue and ACIII only with Norah being around for both and it being from her POV. Hope you guys are enjoying what I have posted so far. I am sad to inform that the following chapters will not come so close together as, like I said previously, they aren't finished concepts and still need more to them. Anyway, thanks again guys.

Seza, out


	4. 3: The Unexpected Can Happen

Chapter 3: The Unexpected Can Happen

August 24, 1765

Five years have gone and passed since I first moved in with the Templars. In those years, not much has happened other than the final ending of the Colonial Assassins in 1763, leaving Achilles to retreat into his manor. I had grown closer to the Templars in that time as well, despite not fully forgiving them for what happened in the frontier, but then that is more Charles than any of the others. From what I could gather, Haytham had no idea we had even gone on that little trip and remains oblivious to what transpired. It is probably for the best anyway, I do not know how he would react if I went up to him and told him his right hand man was strangling his son in the woods, especially since he had no idea about even having said son. Yeah, not the best plan.

So yes, I had grown closer to all of them, but none so much as Shay. When he was not off sailing the seas on his never-ending search for the precursor box, we usually spent that time together walking the streets of New York or, on occasion, he would join me in the frontier for my work. It certainly helps when you have someone like him around to fend off the wolves. So I suppose it was bound to happen, that my feelings for him would grow to be something more than a close friend. My feelings when he was away on voyages went from a mild loneliness to an intense longing for his presence.

I have tried to hide these feelings from him and the others for I am sure nothing will come of it, he is far too busy to worry about such things and as much as I missed him, I cannot see him missing me as much. However, despite my wish to hide these feelings, I still find myself at the docks waiting for his return every time. He is usually never gone for more than a month and today was this voyage's scheduled return. It had reached the point where I was on a first name basis with the Harbourmaster as he had become used to my presence. I was seated on the makeshift chair made of crates and cloth that he had set up for me, to make my wait more comfortable; I could not thank him enough when he first made it for me.

I felt the wind pick up and I am thankful I have my hair in my casual side plait or it would be tangled in no time. In the distance I could see dark clouds and I can only imagine that a storm is on its way. Thankfully I usually bring my umbrella when I wonder so far from the fort; you can never be too careful about the weather. After a quick sweep of the horizon, I do a double take when I see a black speck coming from the open sea. I try not to get too excited; this is a dock and many other ships come through it. However, within the next few minutes, as the ship gets closer, I am happy to see that it is in fact the Morrigan sailing into the harbour.

I speed walk my way down the dock when the Morrigan is closer and I could feel my excitement come off in waves. So much for trying to hide my feelings from everyone, even the passersby probably know I am waiting for the man I fancy to dock. I could not be more obvious. When the Morrigan finally docks and the gangplank is lowered, that is when I see Shay on his ship for the first time in almost a month. "Shay," my shout was probably a bit too loud, but it got his attention and that is all I really cared about.

His head quickly turns my way and a wide grin spreads across his face, and I would be lying if I said it did not give me a fluttering feeling in my gut. "Norah, it has been too long lass," he hastily makes his way towards me, and is it just me or am I not the only one that basically falls into our embrace?

It is probably just my imagination as it is not long before he pulls away, but his hands remain on my arms as he starts talking again, "Let us return to the fort now lass, looks to be a very bad storm heading our way and I would hate for you to be caught in it, especially when you are in one of your beautiful dresses. Let us not ruin any more, that first one all those years ago is enough."

Who was I to say no?

Unfortunately, returning to Fort George meant Haytham being updated on Shay's travels. It just seemed to ruin both their moods as his mission was again unsuccessful. Sometimes I wish they could just leave the box where it was, it seems to be doing both their heads in, but I knew there is no way they would leave it in the hands of Assassins.

Before long, Haytham returned to his quarters to brood, and Shay and I were left alone in the sitting room, something you would not expect to find in a fort, but I digress. Shay was also brooding in his own way, by pacing up and down the length of the room, a frustrating habit to say the least; my neck does start to hurt after a while. "Shay, can you please stop that? Your pacing will not help the situation; I have never met a man who has found something just by pacing at home."

This gives him pause, and he sighs before joining me on the couch. I knew how much this frustrated him, the only thing he needs to do for the Order is find this box and yet, it remains elusive. I would be just as frustrated in his shoes. I reach across to hold his hands; I felt now was a good a time as any to try and comfort him on the situation. "Shay, as much as it would make life easy, the box is not going to simply fall into your lap when you want it to," this makes him chuckle and his mirth gives me hope that I am doing something right. "You will find this box in time; it just is not going to be easy, nothing good in life comes as such."

"Aye, you are right lass, but it does not mean I am not going to hope that my search would come to an end soon," his face falls again. "I spend so much of my time looking for the bloody box that I do not have much time for anything else."

I lift one of my hands to his cheek and give him a stern look, "Shay Patrick Cormac, you listen to me," the use of his full name certainly got his undivided attention. "One day, you will find this box, whether that is on your next voyage or on a voyage ten years from now; you will find it. Now stop this brooding, you have to update me on the exciting parts of your travel, did you meet any new people or visit new locations?"

"Aye lass, you are right," and with this, he told me all about his travels.

We ended up talking late into the night, in fact, I had not realised how late until we checked the wall clock in the room. "My goodness, it is almost midnight lass. I think it time I get you back to your room."

I admit I was disappointed that we would have to part, but I am indeed pretty knackered and sleep would do me some good. "Okay then, let us go."

The trip to my room was not long; I somehow had the one closest to the sitting room. We were facing each other, and I almost felt like I was not the only one who did not want to part from each other. "Well then, good night lass," should have known he would be the first to speak.

Now distracted from the silence, I could only reply in the most normal way possible, "Right, good night Shay."

Honestly, I could not tell you who leaned in first, the whole thing is a blur, but only seconds after my words, his lips were on mine. The kiss seemed to last forever, and if only it would, nevertheless we needed to pull away for air. I do not know how long we simply stared into each other's eyes; however, it is not long before we practically drag each other into my room.

I think the only reason I even wake up the next morning is because there is a ray of sun shining directly onto my face, it makes it difficult for me to open my eyes, but when I finally get them open, I realise that my curtains were open and that was why the sun was getting in. I always close my curtains before I go to bed, seeing as I get the morning sun right onto my face, it was necessary to do so. So what happened last night that made me forget to close them? It all comes flooding back to me when I hear a groan behind me; I turn slowly to find Shay in my bed, one arm covering his eyes from the sun ray that is now on him.

So many emotions ran through me at this; mortification, absolute joy, embarrassment and, as I am ashamed to admit, lust from how incredibly gorgeous he looks laying there with his torso on display in the morning sunlight. I had to stop myself from openly gawking at him as he moved his arm from his eyes and squinted up at me, "Morning Norah, I think we forgot to close the curtains last night."

I had never taken him as the obvious stating man, but I assume some of the emotions I am feeling, he is too. That is when I realised, having sat up meant that my upper half was now also on display. If it was not obvious what we did last night, I might have been embarrassed enough to cover back up, but seeing as he undoubtedly saw it all last night; there was no point. "Morning Shay, yes we did forget, lesson learned aye?"

He chuckles before sitting up to escape the sun in his face; somehow, this is not as awkward as I thought it would be. In fact, it just seemed right, as cliché as that sounded. He leans over and presses a chaste kiss on my forehead before searching for his clothes, "I think it best I return to my quarters and change into new clothing; the others do not need to be all up in our business about this. If you get dressed too, I will return and we can take that much missed walk around the city."

I only have a chance to nod and smile before he leaves my room for his own. I was admittedly giddy and looked forward to our walk.

March 5, 1770

More years passed, and as we grew closer, the stronger my feelings for him grew as well. So when in winter of 1767, when he asked me to marry him, I was only mildly shocked; my joy far outweighed any other feeling. The following year, spring 1768, was when we were married and I became Norah Cormac. Despite the short amount of time we knew each other, it only felt right that we would get married as soon as we did. The others were either happy for us or really did not care, but attended our wedding regardless. I still remain a non-Templar and continue to be nothing more than an informant, I just happened to be the most trusted Templar informant in the Colonies. Even though being married to a Templar meant that I now had a stronger obligation to help them, I was thankful when Haytham assured me he would not demand information that could lead to someone's death and I remained grateful for this.

Today, Haytham was escorting me on a walk around Boston, where we had been staying for the past few weeks, the doctor said that a daily walk would do both me and the baby I was carrying some good. Seeing as Shay was on another voyage for the box, Haytham had kindly volunteered to be my escort during my walks. Did he have any ulterior motives for it? Probably, but I really did not care, it was kind of him regardless. "How are you feeling my dear?"

I look over to him momentarily before looking forward again, "I am feeling fine Master Kenway, and the baby is still more than a couple of months away; for the time being I will be okay."

He simply nods in response, but even if he wanted to speak, we were both distracted by a few people who were running past us. Haytham was able to pull me aside in time before one of the men going past could run into me, "Can the people in this city not watch where they are going?"

I could not agree more with that question, but the noise in the background that sounded a lot like an angry mob had peaked our interest enough that we followed the crowd. We came across a building that was surrounded by citizens and the doors were guarded by Redcoats. When we stood beside a man with a Musket who was leaning on the wall, he and Haytham only nodded at each other. I felt like there was something else behind that acknowledgement, but when the carry-on got louder, my attention returned to the angry mob of people.

"I say again, disperse, congregating in this manner is forbidden," a Redcoat standing at the front door shouts across to the crowd.

The only replies from the crowd are not happy ones, "We're not going anywhere bug!" "Why don't you go back to England?"

"No good can come of this chaos; return to your homes and all will be forgiven."

The crowd continued to ignore the orders with shouts of 'never' and 'not until you've answered for your crimes' were shouted back at him. "You're a right coward." "You don't scare us."

I decided to ignore the crowd with their insults, and my sights landed on one I never expected to see. Standing behind and surveying the crowd, was none other than Achilles, and standing behind him was the boy from the Frontier, the son Haytham was unaware he fathered. Barely seconds after I spot them, Achilles spots us, and whether or not he even recognises me is beside the point as his gaze is only on Haytham. He points him out to the boy who looks both shocked and upset to see him. It was not hard to realise the boy new exactly who the man was.

Beside me, Haytham is conversing with the man holding the Musket, but I am too focused on Achilles and the boy to really hear what they are saying. They look like they are having a slight argument before the boy moves away from him, not before I catch his eye first; I see a small glimmer of recognition before he completely disappears. This is when I notice that man Haytham was talking to was gone and so was Achilles.

"Norah?" I turn to face Haytham, wondering what he needed. "My dear, I think things are about to get a bit dangerous around here; I think it best you return to the house ahead of me."

I only have a few seconds to register this before I reply, "And what about you Master Kenway, will you be okay?"

I should have anticipated his answer, especially since I had a feeling that he and that man with the Musket are about to have something to do with the potential danger, "I will be fine my dear, this is not a situation a woman in your condition need find yourself. I will meet you back at the house shortly."

I know nothing I say will dissuade him, so I only nod in response and head back towards the house, only realising a few seconds later that Haytham had asked a Redcoat to ensure my safe return. We barely walk three blocks before I hear the sound of a Flintlock pistol going off, and not even ten seconds later it is followed by continuous fire from multiple Muskets. I am worried for both Haytham and the unarmed citizens, but even if I wanted to turn back, the Redcoat would have none of that, "Come ma'am, Master Kenway has requested I see you safely back home; I cannot let you walk towards open conflict like that."

So I let him escort me back to the house; I read all about the Boston Massacre in the paper the next day and I weep for all the lives lost.

* * *

Woo, so I managed to get out another complete chapter. As you have probably noticed, this fic is a mixture of events that actually happened in the games and my own events that are linked to my OC. And obviously, the events from the games just have a little bit of other stuff in them to include her into things. Anyway, I hope you guys are enjoying it so far, and about the next chappie, don't know when that will come out but it is almost finished, just need to finish a few events. I'll leave it at this for now, thanks for reading guys.

Seza, out :)


	5. 4: Twice the Gain to Twice the Loss

Chapter 4: Twice the Gain to Twice the Loss

November 6, 1773

Two months after the massacre, on May 21st 1770, I gave birth to our first child; Aedan Liam Cormac. Yes, his middle name is reference to Shay's old friend, because that is what he was; despite everything that happened, Liam was Shay's childhood friend and he felt it only right that our son have Liam in his name. He was born healthy and that is all we could ever ask, nevertheless, he is a beautiful boy if I do say so myself. He has my blonde curls, but the rest of him is the spitting image of his father. That only means that I am going to have to keep my eye out or he may just be swarmed by all the young ladies of the Colonies.

Currently, Shay and I were sitting on the couch, myself curled into his side as we watched Aedan play on the carpet. What was he playing with exactly? A pair of mini wooden swords. They were Haytham's gift for Aedan's third birthday and although I only glared at Haytham for giving them to him; I could not take them away for he loved them too much. It is still hard to watch my three year old trying to swing around fake swords. The day would have been perfect if William did not come barging through the doors so suddenly. "William, what in god's name is wrong with you?"

Even though Aedan only seemed startled before being excited, I was still not best pleased at him barging in that way, "Forgive me my dear, but I have not had the best of days."

I could tell, we could not go further with the conversation though as Aedan was demanding hugs, "Uncle Will'em, Uncle Will'em, up, up," and as it turned out, Aedan had every single Templar wrapped around his little fingers, Charles too, despite how much I really did not want him near my son.

Due to this, William's ire seemed to evaporate momentarily while he gave Aedan his hugs, "Hello child, I hope you have been good for your mother and father?"

"Yes, yes, I always good," he nods his head vigorously as if to make his statement even more true.

"That would be 'I _am_ always good' son," Shay corrected; despite only being three, we made it a habit to correct Aedan's English at every turn, we hope that it helps with his speech as he grows.

"Oh, right, I am always good Uncle Will'em," he fixes his sentence before looking back at William expectantly.

We may correct his speech, but he always has trouble with most people's names; the others have now been all dubbed Hay'am, Tommy, Charlie, Ben'min and Will'em. Shay and I are thankful he only needs to say 'Ma' and 'Da' for us. We pray he grows out of it quickly no matter how funny the two of us think it is. However, with having children, there come the downsides. The biggest one, with his only living grandparents being back in Ireland and not on speaking terms with me, the only time I can do any work in the frontier is when Haytham plans on holing himself up at home for a few weeks and he babysits Aedan for me. Other than that, I am basically full time mother. As much as I love my son, I do wish to have more time out on the frontier; I have thought about taking him with me, but I know that that would be a bad and probably very dangerous idea.

My attention returns to the here and now when William sits himself down with the sigh of a man most troubled, "What is the matter William?"

He wipes his hand across his face before answering, "My tea shipments have been destroyed."

Shay and I share a look, we both knew that William was planning to use the expenses earned from the tea to fund his purchase of the Iroquois land. "Oh dear, how much of it?"

"All of it I am afraid, I have ordered some more, however, that will take another month to arrive," which means he is set back another month.

We could never have anticipated how much worse things were going to get.

December 16, 1773

Ever since the death of one of William's tax collectors, to say that things have been tense is an understatement. Haytham was perpetually irate and William was continuously on edge. I decided that William needed to take a walk, so with Aedan in his father's care, I dragged William outside for a bit of fresh air. "Do forgive me for the mood I have been in lately my dear, not the best environment for a child to be around."

"Oh William, it is not your fault; I understand why you are in this mood. I know how much this endeavour means to you," and I truly did, out of everyone, he was the one that wanted to protect the Iroquois the most and it upset him that someone would try and stop his attempts.

"Thank you Norah, you are too kind."

I only smile as we continue our walk around the city; it is not until we come close to the docks that we hear the commotion. As we get closer still, I catch sight of Charles staring at something further along the docks. I lead William towards him and I realise that he is absolutely livid. "Charles, what is the matter?"

He only takes a second to acknowledge us before lifting his arm and pointing at what he was staring at. I feel William tense under my hand and I soon see why. Further down the docks, the two ships that had brought in the tea were currently being ransacked by the men who called themselves the Sons of Liberty. They were throwing the crates of tea into the harbour, and despite the Redcoats efforts to stop them; they themselves were being cut down. By none other than someone who was clearly an Assassin. Just seeing him had me quickly drawing in a breath, another Assassin, after all these years.

The Assassin turned to face us and that was when he noticed we were there. I tightened my grip on William's arm when I saw who the Assassin was. Despite the hood covering the top of his face, I would recognise the boy anywhere, the irony; the Kenway's really suffered terrible fates. The son of the Templar Grand Master of the Colonial Rite became a Colonial Assassin; the fates truly hated this family. The boy is handed what must be the last crate of tea, and openly stares in our direction as he makes a display of throwing it into the water.

Charles pats William's shoulder before walking away; it takes all my effort to finally drag William away. I take one look back at the boy and give him the same sorrowful look I gave him thirteen years ago; only this time, he is conscious enough to see it.

July 11, 1774

In the end, Haytham acquired the money that William would use to try and purchase the Iroquois land. After days of unsuccessful negotiations, I decided to join William at Johnson Hall along with Aedan in the hopes that we could give him our support, despite what little myself and a four year could do. This day found William again trying to negotiate with the Iroquois Confederacy in the hopes to purchase the land; however, they remain head strong in their position. I spend the time standing behind William, trying to give him my silent support; however, I had left Aedan inside the house as these talks seemed to get both violent and inappropriately worded. I look over to William and I can see that these talks are really giving him a headache, so I decide that I should get something to remedy that, "William, I will just go pop inside to wet some tea, will you be fine out here?"

He looks back at me and nods, "Very well my dear, I shall be fine."

So I make my way back inside the house and find Aedan playing with his wooden swords as he always is. I head towards the kitchen and I pray that tea will help calm the situation. I was pouring the water into the tea cups when I heard noises on the roof; they sounded suspiciously like footsteps. As they started to speed up, as if the person was bolting, I went to find Aedan to ensure he was safe. I found him in the sitting room, still playing, so when I ceased to here the footsteps and now heard the ructions outside, I told him to stay where he was and that he was not to look out the windows.

I make my way to the front door, and when I open it, my heart plummets to the ground. The Assassin was here and he was fighting the Redcoats who were here to protect us. What really stopped my heart however, was the sight next to the door. "WILLIAM," and I rush over to where he was laying.

I was too late though, he was already dead; the Assassin had killed him. I sit beside his body, trying to ignore the fight around me. I have no choice but to focus when the fighting stops and all there is, is silence. I look up and standing near the tree line is the Assassin, staring at me blankly, but I could see the feint sorrow in his eyes as he noticed my tears. "You are Norah Cormac, are you not?"

Despite how surprised I was that he knew this, after all, I was no Templar and Achilles should not have known who I was, I nodded my head and asked him the one thing I wanted to know since I first laid eyes on him. "What is your name lad?"

He looked taken aback that I wanted to know this over asking why he had killed William, but he answered me nonetheless, "My name is Ratonhnhaké:ton, but I was told to have a name to fit in with the Colonists, so I also go by Connor."

It pained my heart, Achilles had given him the name of the son he lost to illness; what did he see in this boy if not a second son? I look back down at William, wondering how I was going to tell my own son that he would never be able to play with his Uncle William again; I just hoped he had heeded my wishes and had not looked out the windows. When I look back up, I am stunned to see that Connor was still standing there, "Is there something else you needed lad? I expected you to be long gone."

"I was unaware that you were here, you are not one of my enemies; I had hoped that when I heard Johnson was here, you would not be," and I suppose that usually, that would be true.

"Aye, I have only been here since yesterday, but regardless, you killed someone close to me, someone close to my son. I hope you realise what this will do to him," and I saw the pain in his eyes as I said this.

I was not trying to guilt trip him, but it needed to be said. "I suggest you get out of here lad, the patrol will be back shortly, it best you not be here when they do."

He looked shocked that I would let him go so easily, but he took up my advice anyway and disappeared into the trees, not before glimpsing briefly at the barely there bump to my belly. I simply returned my gaze to William's dead body, hoping the patrol would move faster; I wanted this cleaned up before my son decided to investigate.

December 2, 1774

After hours of incredibly intense and painful labour, I have given birth to our second child; Briana Clare Cormac. Shay would not stop going on about how much she looked liked me and that he would be breaking many necks when she grew older. I only rolled my eyes as I admired our beautiful little girl; Aedan, who had just been brought into the room, could not seem to keep his eyes off his little sister either. He seemed amazed by how tiny she was and was touching her so softly; as if he thought she would break at his touch. I was proud of how much care he gave her, before long he would be getting the older brother speech where he would be informed of how being the older brother meant that he should protect his younger sister unconditionally. However, that can come later. "She is beautiful Norah."

I look over to Haytham, and I could see the sincerity in his eyes; I honestly wished he was able to watch his own son grow and become the man he is today. If he had been there for his son's life, maybe he would not have become an Assassin; but there is nothing that can be done about it now. "Thank you Haytham, I already have Shay saying he is going to be breaking necks later in her life."

Haytham smiles slightly at this, "I bet he will be, but that will also be Aedan's job; protecting her like that."

Great minds think alike I see, but yes. I also knew that with how he was with Aedan, Haytham would also be protective of Briana, and that he would be there for her as well. As I look at my perfect little family, Briana in my arms, Aedan sitting beside me as he admires his sister and Shay sitting on my other side, watching our children interact; I cannot help but think how lucky I am. It makes me wish that the life of Templars was not kill or be killed when there is an Assassin hunting them.

June 18, 1775

Ever since William's death less than a year ago, things just seemed to go downhill for the Templars. As it was, Charles, Haytham, Thomas, Benjamin and I were in the sitting room inside Fort George; we were brooding, or in my case weeping, over the letter that Haytham had just read aloud to all of us. We had just received word that John had been killed during the fight for Bunker Hill yesterday; by the Assassin. Things just kept getting worse; we have lost two good men and it made their endeavours here that much harder. I had mostly bad thoughts running through my head; who would be next? Would he eventually come for Shay? What is going to happen to the others? I was scared but I knew that I could do nothing, not in my position. "This complicates matters."

I look over to Haytham and I could see how tired he looked, as if the whole weight of the world was on his shoulders. I suppose being the Grand Master meant that it might as well be. His comment only proved how much John's death impacted what he was trying to accomplish here. He came here all these years ago to find the precursor site, he let that mission rest and started a new one, only for that to start doing south because of one Assassin. "What are you going to do Haytham?"

He looks up at me and seems to give his answer some though, "What we can do I suppose. Continue what we have already been doing and hope that is enough to see this through. We cannot let the Assassin have his way, he cuts us down, but we need to keep going or it is all for nothing. I do have one concern, however."

This startled me, usually he tries not to concern himself over things; he says it blinds him from his goals, "And what might this concern be?"

I admit his answer left me gobsmacked, "Your safety, as well as Aedan and Briana's safety."

I knew he cared, but I did not realise it was to this extent, and I suppose now was a good a time as any to tell him about the encounter I had with the boy. I took a few seconds to prepare myself before starting, "I guess I should tell you what else happened the day William died."

They looked taken aback by me bringing it up, but they remained quiet so I could continue. "I talked with the Assassin, and before you go off at me, let me explain," I paused until they had calmed down. "After he had killed all the guards, I expected him to leave, but when I looked back up, he was staring at me. I was a shocked by this, shocked further when he asked if I was Norah Cormac; I never expected he would know who I was. I ended up asking his name, I would not dare try to pronounce his birth name to you, as I would undoubtedly butcher it; so I will tell you that Achilles had given him the name Connor, after his own son. I had looked down at William, but when I looked back, he was still there. I asked him why and this was where he assured me that I was not his enemy. I assume, therefore, that I am not in any danger of his blade."

They all remained quiet for some time before Charles spoke up, "I suppose this is good news, as long as you are not in the boy's sights; you and the children are safe. This bodes well and means that we need not hinder ourselves with worrying too much over your safety."

Although I knew this was said with good intentions, the way it came out could have been better and in the end I had to try really hard not to glare at the man. I think Thomas must have realised exactly how that sounded to me because he just gave me that crooked smile of his and rolled his eyes at Charles. This picked my spirits back up and I smiled back at him. I prayed we did not lose any more.

* * *

Hey guys, woohoo, two chappies so close together. I had this finished quicker than I thought so here you go. Of course, I finished it quickly thanks to MohawkWoman who asked so nicely for me to continue in her review. I am glad you like it, it makes me happy. Thanks again guys.

Seza, out :)


	6. 5: Success and Suspicious Ways

Chapter 5: Success and Suspicious Ways

June 27, 1776

I was taking a kip on the couch in the sitting room of the Fort when Haytham came barging in with what looked like barely contained rage, "What is with you men and barging though them doors?"

Haytham did not seem even mildly amused by my remark and sat himself in the chair across from the couch without acknowledging me further. "Okay, what the bloody hell is troubling you? It takes a lot to ruffle your feathers like this."

He sighs before finally facing me, "Thomas was arrested today for the counterfeiting."

That explained the ire he was giving off, but not the troubled expression. "Okay, even I will admit that was bound to happen Haytham. I mean, bloody hell, he was counterfeiting. That does not explain everything though," and I swear his expression looked mildly pained, but it was gone so fast I may have imagined it.

"It was the Assassin's fault, he was chasing Thomas through the streets and they were both arrested. I have asked Charles to deal with the situation," the way he was avoiding my eyes was all the evidence I needed.

"The Assassin you say," the slight flinch was confirmation that I should keep going down this current track. "You saw it didn't you? You met the boy and you saw it."

"I have no idea what you are referring too," and he tried to stand and leave the room, but I was not having any of that, Grand Master or no Grand Master.

"Haytham Kenway, you sit back down, you are going to talk about this," and I think how stunned he was at me speaking to him like that was what rooted him in his seat. "Tell me what it is you saw when you looked at that boy."

That pained expression I thought I saw earlier appeared, and stayed on his face this time, "I saw Ziio."

"And what else?"

He gives me a look, the kind of look that pleads with me to just let him go, but when he sees that is not going to happen, he continues. "I saw myself, he had Ziio's eyes, but was… _is_ undoubtedly a Kenway."

I knew it was inevitable that he would find out about Connor, I just wish it was under better circumstances. We remain in silence for a few minutes before he seems to realise something, "You knew."

We were silent for so long, I almost did not understand what he meant, but then I realised; he meant about Connor. That I knew he existed. I could see the earlier anger resurface and I knew I had to be honest with him, "Aye, I knew about him."

"Why did you never tell me?"

I give myself time to think about how I was going to word it, "Would you have believed me Haytham?" Before he can interject, I press forward. "Be honest Haytham, would you really have believed me if I went up to you and told you that you had a son? You would probably have thought me crazy because you are the type of man that needs to see it for yourself. Plus, I knew that fate would bring you two together. However, Haytham, you need to understand that I had never anticipated he would become an Assassin."

He looked stunned again, "You knew about him before he was an Assassin? I figured you must have realised when you first talked to him the day William died."

Well shite, no point turning back now, "No Haytham, I have known about him for sixteen years. He would have been four years old when I first saw him."

"When was this?"

I was not sure I wanted to tell him the truth about this, I can imagine he would not believe me on this one, so I decided this was the one thing I was going to be untruthful about, "It was during one of my trips to the Frontier, I ran into the boy when he was playing. He did not hang around long."

He appeared to believe me, the benefits of having his complete trust. "So you have sat on this information for sixteen years? Does anyone else know? Shay?"

"No, no one else recognised him in their encounters and as for Shay, I never told him. I was still hoping that the day you found out about him, things would turn out a lot better than this. Like I said earlier, I never thought he would become an Assassin; I was beyond shocked when I saw him dumping the tea wearing Assassin robes. Honestly, I was worried about what that would mean for the two of you; the father, a Templar Grand Master, and the son, an Assassin. Makes for a terrible family reunion," as I figured, he did not find that last part amusing.

He appeared to contemplate on his next words, "He will be hanged tomorrow," he said this so casually that I was worried he was not quite the full shilling in this moment.

"What? Are you not going to do anything?"

"What can I do Norah? He is the enemy, and the enemy must be taken out," I think he realised this comment made me very unhappy, so he simply stood and prepared to leave the room, he turns to say one last thing. "I wish there was another way Norah, I really do; but there is not."

With that, he was gone, leaving me to brood at the situation and the cursed luck that befalls the Kenway line.

June 28, 1776

Despite my feelings on the situation, I still found myself at Connor's hanging the next day. I was in such a position that I could see the gallows as well as the carriage he was now being forcefully dragged from. I could see Thomas antagonising the poor boy, and seriously, that punch I have been holding back for sixteen years is looming to the forefront. Does he have no respect? Clearly not.

As the poor boy was being led through the crowd, I could not help but feel sorry for him. He only does what he does for the safety and protection of his people. All of this, just because he was doing what he thought was right. He was getting closer to the gallows, and halfway there, a woman in the crowd walked right up to him and socked him in the face. I wanted to scream at the woman, she was hitting the wrong man. Just after she spits in his direction, I find myself relieved when Achilles pushes her aside and goes to the lad. They share words, but no one can hear them over the roar of the crowd.

Thomas pulls Connor up and continues to drag him towards the gallows. With every foot closer he walks to his death, the further my heart plummets to my feet. It just was not right; he should not hang for a crime he did not commit. I am startled when I feel a hand on my waist and I turn to see Haytham standing beside me. I could not hold back, "Are you really going to stand here and do nothing Haytham? That is your son that is being hung for a crime he had nothing to do with. What if that was Aedan? The boy you have seen grow up. Would that make it any different?"

It pained me to use my son against him, but I knew how much Aedan did mean to him. I could see the pain in Haytham's eyes as I said the words, "Hush now Norah, everything will be fine."

I go to protest further, but he gives me his sharp look, the one he had only ever used on the men; he had never used it on me. So I keep myself quiet and turn back to face the gallows, in which Connor was being lead up the stairs. That is when I noticed Charles standing at the top, and I could not hate the man any more than in this moment as he spurts lies from his mouth, "Brothers, sisters, fellow Patriots. Several days ago, we learned of a scheme so vile, so dastardly, that even repeating it now, disturbs my being."

I had to hold back my comment about how he disturbed _my_ being, the wanker. "The man before you plotted to murder our much beloved General. Indeed. What darkness or madness moved him, none can say and he himself offers no defense. Shows no remorse, and though we have begged and pleaded with him to share what he knows. He maintains a deadly silence," I tensed as Charles goes to put the sack around Connor's head. "If the man will not explain himself, if he will not confess and atone, what other option do we have but this? He sought to send us into the arms of the enemy and thus we are compelled by justice to send him from this world. May god have mercy on your soul."

Just before Charles pulled the lever, I noticed a glint from the sun coming from beside me. I look over to Haytham to see him holding a throwing knife in his hand. I do not have time to question him before the lever is pulled; I hear a feint bird call before an arrow and Haytham's throwing knife combined, cut the rope and I can only imagine Connor falls safely to the ground beneath. Although I was happy that Haytham did not have it in him to allow the death of his own son, I realised what that meant for Thomas. I rush through the crowd to get to where I knew he had been standing and it was hard in my dress, but as I make my way closer to the gallows, neither he nor Connor are there. I hear a scream coming from the direction I was already heading and I look up to see what I feared. Not two feet from George Washington himself, was Connor with his tomahawk in Thomas' neck.

I assume Thomas had gone straight for the General when he realised that Connor was still alive; however, his plan did not work and now he had joined William and John. Just before the Redcoats could arrest Connor again, Israel Putnam came and ordered them away, and by then, the General was gone. I lock eyes with Connor, which seemed to be our custom when we are in the same vicinity, before Haytham comes and leads me away with his arm back in its position around my waist.

January 31, 1777

I found myself on the couch at Fort George again, keeping an eye on my children as they play on the floor. I am currently knitting, it was strange when I first picked up the hobby; I am a woman who does so well out in the open, amongst the trees and beautiful lakes. However, as it was, I am no longer as young as I used to be and despite only being forty-one years old; I still find myself too old for the things I used to love. Hence, I find myself doing more indoor activities; knitting being one of them. I was currently knitting Aedan another scarf seeing as he recently lost his old one. He insists he lost it in the house, but I am his mother, I know he goes outside a lot more than he is supposed to. I usually let him be though, as his usual adventures outside only entail going to the main gate, hoping his father will return shortly. As it was, he was in France, chasing a lead on the box; a lead that will hopefully put an end to his search.

However, France was quite the voyage and hence, Shay has already been gone a lot longer than he usually is. Aedan misses him so much and it pains my heart to know, that what usually distracts him from his father's absence, is playing with his uncles. Three were gone, and as far as the children were concerned, they were only in England for a _very_ long time; long enough for me to build up the courage to tell them the truth. However, being three men short meant that the remaining three were always busy and had no time to play, therefore, Aedan missed his father so much more. If I am honest, I miss him so much it hurts. "Ma?"

I look up from my knitting to look at my son and he looks so forlorn, it hurts my heart. "Yes my dear?"

"When is Da coming home?"

He asks me this question every day, and I only ever have the same answer, "I do not know Aedan, when Da is finished with his mission and we can never know when that is."

I wish I did not have to see my son so upset, but in the end, there was not much I could do. I get ready to comfort him when the door opens. I feel my heart lift, for there standing in the doorway, is Shay. He looks a mixture of relieved to see us and overjoyed from being home. "DA!"

It does not take long for our two children to run up to him and give him back breaking hugs. I stand and make my way over to them, and when I am within reach; he pulls me into a kiss, the kind where it feels like we have not kissed in years. When he finally pulls away, he looks into my eyes, "It is over love, I have the box."

That phrase made me so elated, but sob uncontrollably as well, he no longer had to leave on his long voyages; he could stay here with us and not go anywhere. This seemed to make all the pain and loss we have been receiving lately, just disappear.

December 5th, 1777

I had the Fort to myself for the most part; Shay had taken the children out for the afternoon, he is on a never ending quest to make up for all the time he has been away, and I really did not mind. I was not sure what Haytham, Charles and Benjamin were doing, but I assume they were busy. I find myself walking past the study areas when I here shuffling noises; as if someone is going through stacks of paper. I head towards the noise and discover it is coming from Haytham's study; this in itself made me wary, not only was Haytham not home, he never shuffled his papers like that. I was admittedly flabbergasted when I find that it is in fact Benjamin going through the papers, and he does not seem to notice me until I clear my throat. He jumps and if his presence alone was not suspicious enough, the way he looked like a child with his hand caught in the cookie jar certainly was, "Are you looking for something Benjamin?"

He looks very nervous as he answers despite trying to cover it up, "Ah yes my dear, Master Kenway has sent me to retrieve some papers for him, I am just having a little trouble finding them; I think they may not be here."

If that was not the biggest fib ever, I did not know what was; however, I was not going to give this away, if he thinks I am not aware, I may learn something. "I see, well then good luck Benjamin, tell Haytham I said hello."

With those words, I leave the room; I hide myself in the room next door and my patience pays off as five minutes later, Benjamin leaves Haytham's office with a stack of papers. He walked as if he was in enemy territory, a Templar nervous in Templar territory; that just screams traitor. I decide to follow him, find out what he plans to do with those papers. I follow him for what seems like fifteen minutes before he reaches the gateway that leads out into the Frontier. He loiters around for another few minutes before he is joined by a Redcoat. So as not to be discovered, I am not close enough to hear their conversation, but Benjamin gives the Redcoat the papers. They part ways and I hang around a little longer to make sure that they are truly gone before making my way back to the Fort, although a different way to Benjamin.

When I finally returned to Fort George, I immediately went to the room I shared with Shay and sat on our bed to think about what I would do with this information. When I first moved into this Fort, I told Haytham that I would never give them information that could lead to the death of anyone; whether they were involved with this war or not. If Benjamin was indeed a traitor, this could very well lead to his death if Haytham found out. This left me in a pinch; despite what I said about the information I would give the Templars, I am not too sure what that meant with traitors. I was at war with myself; I hide this information and Benjamin turns out to be a traitor, then someone else I hold dear could die. However, I tell Haytham and Benjamin is not a traitor, what does that make of me?

In the end, I decide that I will keep my eye on Benjamin and find solid proof of my theory. If he truly is a traitor, I will tell Haytham, and if he is not a traitor, then I leave it well enough alone. I am not entirely sure how I want this to go. I look down at my dress and sigh; another dress ruined by mud because of Templars.

* * *

Do you guys love me? Another update today, I am on a role, although, today's role ends now, I haven't started the next chapter, so it will be a while longer until that one is out. However, I am proud of how much I have done in 50 hours. Anyway, I really hope you guys are enjoying the fic so far, as much as I enjoy writing it I hope. It is going pretty quickly, I'll admit, but I am trying to flesh it out by adding more of my own events rather than just the ones from the games. Thanks again for reading guys.

Seza, out


	7. 6: Traitor of Two Kinds

Chapter 6: Traitor of Two Kinds

January 5, 1778

So I continued my investigations into Benjamin and his very suspicious activities. Shay himself was getting worried by how troubled I always seemed, but I insisted there was nothing and he dropped it, knowing I would tell him when the need arose. After a month of following Benjamin almost everywhere, I finally got the information I was looking for, despite wishing my suspicions were not true. I followed him to the docks of New York where he met up with a few Templars that I had never met personally, but knew were members. It was their conversation that gave me what I needed, "We have the supplies."

The Templar who said this was one who I had only seen in passing once, and like the others present, I did not know his name. He was standing to Benjamin's right, the one to his left spoke next, "Are you sure this is a good idea? The Patriots are going to notice the missing supplies, probably long before they reach the British."

I could not believe it, Benjamin was also a traitor to his country, stealing supplies from the Patriots; what a plonker. "It does not matter, soon, we will join the British and it will be too late for the Patriots or the Templars to do anything."

Benjamin's words sent a chill down my spine; he was indeed a traitor to the Templar Order, on top of being a traitor to his country. "Where are the supplies now?"

I listened closer, hoping to use the information, and the Templar standing in front of Benjamin gave me exactly that, "There is a small town on the South Road near Valley Forge, they are there."

I knew exactly where that was.

I had hastily made my way back to Fort George, where I knew Haytham was for the next few days. I did not take time to stop after walking through the gate or even acknowledge the guards who nodded in my direction. I headed straight for Haytham's study, hoping we could fix the problem before Benjamin made another move. I should have knocked, but I felt I did not have the time, so I barged in, "Haytham, we have a problem."

If he was annoyed by my barging in, he did not show it; he seemed more concerned by the worried look on my face, "What is the problem Norah?"

I took a second to think about how exactly to word it and decided that coming right out with it was best, "About a month ago, I found Benjamin snooping around your study, looking for some papers, I followed him afterwards where I found him give the papers to a Redcoat. I decided to continue to follow him to get hard evidence of his possible betrayal, and that is exactly what I just discovered," when it looked like he was not going to interrupt me, I continued. "He just had a meet up with a few other Templars, all four of them are defecting and Benjamin has also betrayed the Patriots. They have stolen supplies from them and are giving them to the British. I know where he and the supplies will be."

He lets the information sink in before standing, "I think we best be off."

January 7, 1778

Leaving my children in their father's capable hands, Haytham and I had immediately set out for that little town near Valley Forge. When we finally reached our destination, it appeared we were too late, the town, and the church which clearly had the supplies, were empty. We stood together in the church, and I was beyond pissed to know that we were too late to catch him here. We paused when we could vaguely hear footsteps in the snow, we only locked eyes and I knew exactly what he would do without any words. As he climbed into the rafters above the doorway, I took a seat near the altar; our guest would see me and never suspect Haytham would be in waiting. Of course, I never suspected it would be Connor that walked through those doors and he looked just as stunned to see me. "Missus Cormac, what are you doing here?"

"Oh you know, hunting traitors," and he definitely looked surprised at that.

"You are not part of the Order, why would you be hunting traitors alone?"

I was not given a chance to answer before Haytham jumped from his spot in the rafters and landed on top of Connor. "Who said she was alone."

"Father."

"Connor, any last words?"

"Wait," he could not say anything else?

"A poor choice," but Connor shoved him off before he could even attempt to plunge his knife in.

"Come to check up on Church? Making sure he had stolen enough for your British brothers?"

They continued to circle each other as I just stood to the side, trying not to roll my eyes at their dominance display. "Benjamin Church is no brother of mine, no more than the Redcoats or their idiot king. Oh, I expected naiveté, but this, the Templars do not fight for the Crown. We seek the same as you boy, freedom, justice, independence."

"But," and he was interrupted by his father's 'but what?' before he could continue. "But Johnson, Pitcairn, Hickey, they sought to steal land, to sack towns, to murder George Washington."

Just hearing their names renewed the pain I felt over their deaths, but I refused to let it control me in this situation. I continued to stand back as Haytham defended them. "Johnson sought to own land so that we might keep it safe. Pitcairn aimed to encourage diplomacy, which you cocked up thoroughly enough to start a god damn war, and Hickey," he lets out a sigh before continuing. "George Washington is a wretched leader; he's lost almost every battle in which he's taken part. The man's wrapped with uncertainty and insecurity. Only look at Valley Forge to know my words are true; we're all better off without him. Look, much as I'd love to spar with you, Benjamin Church's mouth is as big as his ego. You clearly want the supplies he stole, I want him punished; our interests are aligned."

I raise my eyebrow; you clearly want to get to know your son Haytham, why can you not be honest? Connor seems to find this less strange, "What do you propose?"

"A truce, perhaps," pause, "Perhaps come time together might do us good, you are my son after all, and might still be saved from your ignorance," he brandishes his hidden blade. "I can kill you know if you prefer."

I know for a fact you will not kill your son Haytham, you are terrible at this. Haytham takes Connor's silence as consent, "Excellent, shall we be off?"

"Do you even know where Benjamin Church has gone?" and there is the question.

"I'm afraid not, we had hoped to ambush him when he or one of his men returned here. It seems we are too late; they've come and cleared the place out," no kidding, although, what is this 'we'? I do not do ambushing of anyone.

"I may be able to track him," of course.

The two of them start heading for the door until I clear my throat and they pause before simultaneously turning to face me. Seeing them standing next to each other like that, it was scary how much Connor looked like his father, "Have you forgotten about me gentlemen?"

Before either can try and answer the question I just make my own decision, "Never mind that, Haytham, seeing as you have a new partner here, I will go home. As it is, I am not much use to either of you if you plan on getting into any fights. So it is better if I return to New York."

"Even if that is true, I cannot just send you off through the frontier on your own Norah," and if I was any other woman, he would have been on to something.

"Haytham, my work entailed being in the frontier at all times of the day, I think I can get back to New York just fine on my own," and the trip is really not long, all I need is a horse and I just do not stop until I reach the gates.

He stands contemplating and in the end, he agrees, "Very well my dear, just do not stop for anything or anyone. I will see you when I return."

I send them off with a final kiss to Haytham's cheek before I make my way to the horse tied down outside the church. With haste, I make my way back to New York.

January 19, 1778

It had been almost three weeks since I had seen Haytham and Connor; I hoped that their tracking of Benjamin was going well. However, considering it has been this long, I imagine it is not going as well I had hoped. Since then, I had finally told Shay what had been bothering me, but despite how much it angered him to know there was a traitor, I knew he would never say anything against Benjamin. In the end, he feels he would be a hypocrite; after all, he essentially betrayed the Assassin Brotherhood and therefore has no right to speak ill of another traitor. I knew trying to tell him it was not the same thing would not help, so I let it be.

Today I found myself taking a walk through the markets, alone; something I regret immensely when I am grabbed from behind and dragged into an alley. I am forcefully turned towards two mercenaries, one of whom has his hand covering my mouth in order to stop me from screaming. Being as weak as I am, the other one has no trouble tying my hands together and with a show of astounding team work, they manage to tie a gag around my head so the one who was doing it before need not. With me efficiently secured; the one who was holding me throws my body over his shoulder, an action he does with ease as I had never been anything more than tiny. To say I was terrified was an understatement; what were they planning to do with me? I just prayed I lived through it to see my husband and children again. It took them a while to reach their destination as they had to take the back streets in order to not be caught carrying little old me through the streets.

When we finally reach the place, I am able to get a glimpse of where we are; the old Smith and Company Brewery. What the bloody hell were they planning on doing with me in a brewery? I learned quite quickly who was behind all of this when the two men hold me down into a chair and Benjamin bloody Church comes out from behind some crates. Well Haytham, I found the traitorous bastard, only I do not think the situation is favourable for me. "Hello Norah, how lovely to see you again."

What a wanker, it most certainly was _not_ lovely to see _him_ again. Seeing as my mouth was still gagged, I used my eyes to give him my best death glare I could manage; this only caused him to chuckle, "Ah, my dear, your stare does not frighten me. However, onto other matters; you really thought I didn't know you had been following me around? Come now Norah, we have known each other how many years now? Eighteen? I knew you were on to me when you caught me going through the papers on Haytham's desk; you are not stupid, which is why you pretended to believe my words, only so that you could follow me and find out what I was doing. I admit, it meant I had to hasten my plans so that you couldn't warn Haytham in time. However, I realise that simply knowing about my treason means that Haytham will want me dead regardless. So, I have decided to set up this lovely trap. He will find this place, thinking I am here; however, there will be a decoy and well, you. There will be many mercenaries too, and they will take out Haytham and probably you as well. Then I get to go free with no one the wiser."

So the lobcock was unaware that not only had I told Shay about his treason, but Haytham was working with Connor as well. Hopefully this is enough to save all our lives. Being gagged means I cannot shout the insults I want, so I instead choose to have an air of nonchalance, make it seem I do not care. This will not only deprive him of his satisfaction, but means he cannot gloat to me any further. I do not care as long as he does not know about Connor; it means his plan should fail.

He notices my nonchalance and simply scoffs, "Fine, have it your way, you will stay here until Haytham comes looking for me here; then you will both die."

After he left, I remained alone with the two mercenaries, where I would stay for a while.

January 26, 1778

I must have been in this seat for around a week, I had honestly lost track of the days; I was allowed to eat, drink and go to the toilet, but not much of anything else. Hence, I could feel myself getting weaker; I just prayed Haytham and Connor would find this place soon, and hopefully not get killed by the ambush. They had my chair facing the doorway, and the decoy, whom really only looked like Benjamin from the back, was always facing towards me; most likely _because_ he only looked like Benjamin from the back. Tonight seemed to be the night as I could vaguely hear voices behind the door and what sounded like someone picking the lock. The decoy and the mercenaries clearly heard it too, because the men joined the others in hiding, and the decoy tensed, getting ready for them to enter. The door opens suddenly and I see Connor barging in first, and he honestly looks a bit angry. Wait, is he wearing a mercenary's outfit, I can barely see past the decoy; well that is one way to get in I suppose. I am situated in just a way that they will not see me until the decoy turns around. I can hear them both walking towards the man they think is Benjamin. "Benjamin Church, you stand accused of betraying the Templar Order, and abandoning our principles in pursuit of personal gain. In consideration of you crime, I hereby sentence you to death."

This is when the decoy decides to make his move; he swiftly turns to face them, "NOW!"

The two mercenaries who had been watching me come out from hiding with their Muskets aimed at them. However, this is when Haytham and Connor notice me; tied up and exhausted as I was, I probably looked quite the pitiful sight. The decoy continues to talk as Haytham tries to think of what to do, "You're too late, Church and the cargo are long gone and I'm afraid you won't be in any condition to follow."

More mercenaries come out from hiding, and I can do little more than watch as Haytham and Connor fight against almost impossible odds. After a long fight, they come out on top and as Connor walks over to interrogate the decoy, Haytham comes over to untie me, "Norah, are you okay?"

"Aye Haytham, I am alright; I feel rather weak, but nothing I cannot handle," seeing that I was indeed okay, he walks over to where Connor had pulled up the decoy.

I was not entirely listening to the conversation, but they certainly had my attention when Haytham walks up behind the decoy and stabs him. His final words are, "You promised."

"And he kept his word," figures Haytham would find the loophole in any promise. "Let's go."

However, up above, three more mercenaries with muskets appear and get ready to fire at us; I am quick to hide behind a crate and Connor has to drag his father behind another. So of course they change target and fire at the barrels of gunpowder down the side; this makes them explode and thankfully; I am far enough away that the explosion does not send me flying. The whole brewery was now on fire and I was more frightened then I ever had been before.

We have no choice but to go up, as there was no way to get out on this level. The only thing; I was not a good climber, not to mention I am wearing a dress. That was not good because if I did not go up and out, I was not going to get out at all. My saving grace comes in the form of Connor, who kneels in front of me, making a gesture for me to get on his back. Seeing this as my only option, I oblige him, despite how ungraceful it is in a dress, and try not to panic being so high up; the boy was way too tall. After quite a deadly trek to reach the top, we finally succeed. However, the floor gives way, taking a mercenary with it and almost Haytham as well if he had not grabbed onto something so quickly. Connor puts me down before he pulls him up to safety and we look around to find a doorway.

After making sure I am okay, Haytham walks over to the doorway only to find out the door was not opening, "It's stuck; see if you can find something to pry it open."

Connor, however, was rearing up to do something else entirely. "Connor? What are you up to?"

He turns to face him, and he does not look too happy. "No, don't do that, there's no way of knowing what's on the other si…," he does not get much of a chance before Connor is pushing them both through the door, "iiiiiiiiiiiide."

The tail end of Haytham's shout is muffled by the splash of water; I do not wait to launch myself over the edge as well seeing as I could feel the flames licking at my heels. As we all pop our heads back above water, Connor decides to be funny, "We do now."

His father was not pleased, and gave him a look to show exactly how annoyed he was. We swim our way to shore and it is very cold now, being out of the water. "Church has at least a day on us."

I was not going to correct Haytham by saying it had to be more like a week on them. "We must move quickly if we're to catch him."

Connor takes this moment to interject, "I have a ship we can use."

To say we were both shocked was an understatement, "Meet me on the pier when you're ready."

With that last line, Connor was gone. Haytham turns to face me, "I think it best we get you home, I imagine your husband and children are worried sick."

"Did you know I was missing?"

"I did actually, when you did not return from your trip to the markets, and didn't show up the next day; Shay was immediately worried and sent me a letter. I should have known Benjamin would have something to do with it," and he says this as if he should have.

"Aye, but it was my fault; Benjamin knew I was following him. Thankfully, he did not know that you are working with Connor; he thought you would be an easy challenge," and thankfully he was wrong.

"That is fortunate indeed," he pauses to think about the situation before changing his thoughts. "Come, being held hostage for a week and then taking a dive in the harbour cannot be good for your health."

So we made our way back to the Fort, and no words could describe how happy I was to be back in Shay's arms with our children beside us.

* * *

Another chappie done and dusted, yay. I am hoping to finish this fic by Saturday, epic record then because then it will have been done in a week. Will it be done before New Years even? Who knows, it depends on how quickly I get through the rest of it.

I mean, you guys have probably realised I have absolutely nothing better to do with my life. I made the mistake of waiting until after I was 18 (you know, legal age here in Australia) to try and get a part time job. No one wants to hire anyone 18 or older, because then they have to pay us adult wages and no one wants to do that. So any Aussie readers, GET A JOB BEFORE YOU TURN 18, IT WILL MAKE YOUR LIFE EASIER. Moral of the story, no job + uni holidays = overabundance of free time.

Okay, rant over. Anyway, I will be busy NYE (busy drinking myself under the table) and the morning of New Years (busy being hungover), so I should still hopefully be done by Saturday.

Also, shout out to MohawkWoman again for your latest review, thank you for your kind words and I am glad you are enjoying my fic.

Anyway, I'll leave it here for now.

Seza, out


	8. 7: The Fall

Chapter 7: The Fall

March 18, 1778

On March 8, I received word from Haytham saying that they had successfully killed Benjamin and retrieved the stolen Continental supplies the day before off the coast of Martinique. Although I was slightly sad that my children had lost another uncle, my joy far outweighed that sadness; the man had been a traitor to the Order and his country, not to mention he had kidnapped me. That last part was the reason Shay had a very happy look on his face when we read the letter. However, this left Haytham and Charles the only remaining Templars for the main Colonial branch, if you did not count Shay who was now only Templar by status and loyalty; he no longer had a mission to complete. That being said, we were also losing Templars outside the main branch; in fact, we just received a letter stating that Nicholas Biddle's ship, the Randolph, had been sunk by the Aquila only yesterday. Another Templar gone and although I had only ever met Nicholas on a few occasions; it still hurt to know he was also dead.

Connor was slowly but surely taking out the Templars, working his way to the top. Who would be his next target? Shay? Would he go for Charles next? Or would he go for his father? Each one pained me to think about; the man I loved, the man I saw as an older brother or the man, although I hated, was also a close friend. With all three of them getting on years; how much of a fight would any of them put up against a strong twenty-two year old? Considering the truce, though unstable, that Haytham had with Connor; I had hoped no more of us would die after Benjamin. Haytham, in fact, looked rather annoyed by Nicholas' death, but pissed off? No, not really. I worried what would become of the order, now that it had so few members; so few loyal members at that. I suppose we will have to wait and see how far this truce between father and son would last; if it even will. With the amount of inevitable things that have happened in my life; I suppose I should have anticipated what happened next.

June 17, 1778

Yesterday, Connor and Haytham had brought three Redcoats into the Fort and interrogated them; I was not around for that part, so I have no idea what made Connor look so upset, nor what caused their haste to reach George Washington. Despite how they were still working together; there was something that had me worried. Is it just me, or was there something incredibly shaky about what remained of their truce. I had a terrible feeling that whatever happens at Valley Forge may just break this fractured truce. It seems I would get my answers as Haytham comes barging through the doors; and despite my worry over his expression, I was still incredibly annoyed by how often those doors are banged open. "Seriously, is there just something about those doors that make you men want to barge through them at all times? At this rate, I am going to have to hire a woodworker to bloody fix them."

As like every other time I bring that up; Haytham looks entirely unamused. "Fine, what happened? Considering you are here and not having bonding time with your son; I assume something happened with Connor."

I see him flinch discretely at the mention of Connor's name and this only proves me right, "When we were at Valley Forge, I found a letter that Washington had received from his troops; he had ordered an attack on Connor's village. So I shared it with him and I chose that opportunity to have Connor realise that it was Washington that was responsible for his mother's death all those years ago," he sighs with what I can only describe as disdain. "Unfortunately, the only thing he got out of that was that I knew that his mother was dead; in the end he was angry with us both and warned us that if we were to follow him, he would kill us."

So the truce was ended, but something about his words made me realise something, "Haytham Kenway, did you at some point pretend to not know about Ziio's death to your son? Is that why he was so angry with you?"

He looks away from my eyes, and that is all I need as confirmation, "I cannot believe you; you finally have a chance to reconcile with your son, after being enemies for so many years, and you lie to him. About his mother's death no less. You know how much her death hurt him and you go and do this? I am ashamed of you; it is no wonder the truce was so shaky. There were cracks from the very start and it would only take one hit, just like this one, to finally shatter it to pieces."

Despite how I could see the pain in his eyes over my words, my disappointment in him far outweighed the guilt at making him feel like this. I let him soak in my words before continuing further, "I hope you realise that he may never trust you again; you have broken whatever small amount of trust he had in you. You are his father, and despite the facade; he truly wanted to make peace with you. However, it was ruined when he realised you had been lying to him from the start. I really hope you can think of something to fix this, before it becomes too late."

With those departing words, I left the sitting room to leave Haytham to think about what he had done; I just prayed that he would not do anything rash because of my words.

September 16, 1781

Another three years had come and gone, with nothing really to show for it. Haytham continued to wallow in self-pity, despite how hard he tried to hide it. However, my children had grown so much; Aedan was now eleven years old and Briana was soon to turn seven. Seeing them grow only reminded me of how old the rest of us were getting; Shay now fifty and me, forty six. It concerned me immensely, Haytham was now fifty five, and I worried about how much more we could really do now. In my opinion, Haytham, Charles and Shay were getting too old to do much of anything Templar related; however, this did not stop Haytham and Charles from continuing their work. Shay and I spent the time just being with each other and our ever growing children.

Nonetheless, three years without hearing anything of Connor was the most worrisome. With the truce now null and void, Connor could come for the others anytime now; when is the biggest unknown. I was incredibly thankful that Shay had taken our children out, when I could feel the telltale signs of cannon balls attacking the fort. I was frozen in my place on the couch until Haytham and Charles came barging into the room, "Norah are you okay?"

I barely manage to nod in response to Haytham's question before he is grabbing me and dragging me towards an exit. We happen to reach the secret tunnel exit when Haytham stops. "Charles, you need to take yourself and Norah out of here, I will distract the Assassin."

Charles liked this about as much as I did, "But sir, we cannot just leave you here on your own, not with all this cannon fire going on."

Haytham was not in the mood for disobedience today however, "Charles, this is a direct order, you get Norah and yourself to safety; I will have no arguments. Am I understood?"

Charles looked like he wanted to protest further, but decided better of it, "Come my dear, let us go."

I however, was not done protesting, "Haytham, you cannot be serious, you do not stand a chance against him on your own. You are a strong fighter, but how strong are you against someone your son's age?"

It only really occurred to me later, that this was the point where Charles learned about the relationship between his Grand Master and the Assassin who had ruined their plans. "It is because he is my son that I must do this."

This is when I had a terrible thought, "Haytham, please tell me you are not doing this because of everything I said all those years ago," but his look told me everything, the rash response I feared has arrived. "No, I cannot let you do this, I know for a fact you cannot kill the boy; you have saved his life once and spared it a second, what makes you think you can even attempt to kill him in battle?"

"You have no choice in the matter Norah, you will go with Charles willingly, or he will drag you away," and I knew Charles would be happy to do just that.

I was not done, "No, you are not doing this," Haytham gives one nod in Charles' direction and the man has his arms around my waist, "No Haytham, Charles let me go," but he does not let me go and continues to drag me away, and I see Haytham's back before he drags me around the bend. When we finally got to safety, I could only cry into Charles' chest, despite how unhappy I was with him. He finally escorted me away from the Fort, where we eventually ran into Shay and our children. Shay could tell automatically what had me so upset; he only had to see that Haytham was not with us to know.

September 18, 1781

Two days had passed, and I did little more than weep. Aedan and Briana did not understand why I was in such as state, as it was; I still used the 'moved to England permanently' speech for why they would not see Haytham for a very long time. I truly hated lying to them, but I did not want to see my children cry. Did that make me a bad mother for lying to them? I do not know. Shay tried to comfort me as best he could, but Charles just lost the plot. He walked around, permanently angry with the world; the children were even making comments about how scary Uncle Charlie looked. I could not really blame them. He organised Haytham's funeral, which had been yesterday, but I could not bring myself to attend. Probably a good thing considering I hear Connor had turned up; I do not think I could have seen him and not given him a slap. "Norah love, there is a letter here addressed to you."

I turn to face Shay and reach for the letter he was holding in his hand. Indeed, it had _Norah Cormac_ written on the front with elegant hand writing; a hand I did not recognise. I must say I am glad to have opened it; I do not think I had ever received a letter that had made me this happy before.

 _Missus Cormac,_

 _Knowing how close you were to my father, I realised it would be best I send you this letter to give you this news. I wanted to keep this hidden from Charles Lee as I very much plan on killing him. I do wish to let you know and if you want to inform your husband, that too is fine. I do believe I had never told you that he was never one of my targets; your family remain safe from my blade. However, the news that I want to tell you is this; my father is still very much alive. Heavily wounded, but in the end; I could not bring myself to kill him._

 _I managed to get him to the Davenport Homestead where I currently live and our resident Doctor White has been seeing to his care. He informs me that in time, my father should make a full recovery; however, at his age, this recovery will take quite some time._

 _I hope this letter finds you and your family safe; I apologise now for the cannon fire on the Fort. I had no idea you were still inside and if you had been hurt, I would never have forgiven myself and I imagine your husband would want my head for it. I have already informed my Assassin recruits and the people of the Homestead that should a small woman with long, curly blonde hair arrive when I am out, that she is to be led to the manor to see our guest. They are also informed that she may arrive with her husband and two children. If you wish to see my father, than you are welcome, along with your family, to visit him at the Homestead._

 _Ratonhnhaké:ton_

I am crying tears of joy as I passed the letter to Shay so that he too could know the good news. "What do you want to do lass? By going to where the Assassins reside would essentially be betraying what is left of the Order?"

I gave him a look, "You mean Charles? You only need see him once to know he is gone in the head now that he thinks Haytham is dead. He may be the new Grand Master, but we know the real one is still very much alive. Going to visit our true Grand Master is not betraying the Order. As you said, it is what is left of the Order; in the end, the Colonial Rite is all but gone, when Haytham finally recovers from his injuries, he will still be in no condition to run anything. We are too old to do anything, as it is, I am no Templar and I see now that it is inevitable that Connor will kill Charles. The Colonial Templars are done and there is really nothing we can do."

He lets the words sink in before responding, "Aye, your words be true, I suppose it is time we all retired from this life."

I could not agree more and we make haste to pack what remains of our belongings, gather the children and set off for the Davenport Homestead.

September 20, 1781

The journey was short, but seemed long with how much the children hated being out in the frontier for so long. However, I am thankful when I see the Davenport Homestead coming up as it was becoming rather late in the afternoon. The children, upon seeing it, grew excited, and this was when I realised that they had only ever lived in cities. This beautiful land must be a welcome sight for them as much as it is for me. I suppose this change will do us all some good. We grew closer and closer to the houses and other buildings that made up the Homestead until we came across the first; the home that most obviously belonged to the resident Blacksmith, and as it is, he was working away. He looks up and notices us before heading our way. So we dismount the horses, making sure our children also get off safely. "Hello sir, we are here to visit your landlord."

The man simply nods and asks, "I assume you must be Mister and Missus Cormac," and when we simply nod our heads he continues, "My name is David Walston, but the folks around here call me Big Dave. Connor told us you might be coming, if you want; I can lead you to the manor or introduce you to the other folks that live here."

I would like very much to meet the other homesteaders, but they would not be going anywhere anytime soon; so I decided that I wanted to see Haytham as soon as possible, "We will be happy to meet the others in due time, but we wish to see our friend and make sure he truly is okay. I am sure you can understand as we spent two days believing he had left us for good."

He nods, "I understand just fine ma'am, and I suppose yourselves and your children are weary from travel and could use the rest."

I did not realise how true those words were until he spoke them, so without delay, we followed Dave to the manor. Shay had Briana in his arms, she had instantly fallen asleep on his shoulder, and Aedan was walking beside me, the lad looked ready to pass out. The path to the manor took us past many other buildings, the ones I could make out were the inn, a lumber mill and a church before we finally reached the path up to the manor. I must admit, the manor had always been beautiful, the few times I had been able to catch a glimpse of it, but having all the new buildings just makes the Homestead look a lot more…welcoming rather than isolated. When we reach the door, Dave knocks for us before stepping back.

It does not take long before Connor answers the door, and he looks a lot more tired than I expected he would. "Oh, you came, I mean, I expected you would, but you certainly came quickly."

We only chuckled at this as he let us in. We said our goodbyes to Dave before he left us and Connor led us to what must be the dining room. Shay gently places Briana on the couch to the side of the room next to Aedan, who curls around his sister and they are both now asleep. The moment was so beautiful that I wished there was a way I could immortalise it. We had more important things to discuss, however, so I turned back to the men who were now seated at the table; I take a seat beside Shay and try not to slump in my seat, "Thank you for telling us lad, Norah was beside herself when your father sent her away; I was afraid I would never get her back."

I look sorrowfully at Shay; I had not realised my pain had done this to him, "I knew my father meant something to her, so it was not a hard decision to write the letter. However, I would like to say again, in person this time, how sorry I was for having the Fort attacked while you were still inside Missus Cormac. Like I have said, I did not want you to be harmed and I am glad that you were able to get out in the end."

"I have your father to thank for that Connor; he had Charles pretty much drag me out, so do not think anything of it now. It is in the past; I am just happy that you spared his life in the end. I knew your father could never kill you no matter what he said; I did not know if you were capable of killing him," and really, it turns out he did not have it in him either.

"Ah yes, I found his journal in the Fort, I learned he had been half the reason I was not hung all those years ago," and I realise that thinking about it upset him slightly. "On another note, father is actually still unconscious; Doctor White says it may be a few more days before he wakes up."

Really, I was not surprised why that was when Connor explained how badly injured he was; a bad gash on his arm, a deep stab to his shoulder from Connor's hidden blade as well as numerous cuts and bruises from their fight. "I think it best we retire for the night then, your father is not going anywhere and we could really use the rest."

Shay was right, I was barely staying awake and by the looks of it, so was Connor. "That is a good idea, I have a guest house right next to the manor; you would have seen and passed it coming up the path. It has two rooms and there is plenty of room for all four of you."

"Thank you Connor, that is very kind of you lad," and with that, Shay and I carried our sleeping children to out temporary residence before saying good night to Connor.

If we had not been so tired; we might have thought something of how Connor used 'I' instead of 'we' and that we did not think to ask where Achilles was.

* * *

So this story is going a lot quicker than I anticipated, but I am happy with it regardless. Also, yes, I did let Haytham live, because as it was, I have always been rather upset that Ubisoft killed him off no matter how necessary it was. They couldn't just find a way around it, so I did *nose in the air.* Anyone who has played the game as much as I have will realise that this story is drawing to a close, there will be maybe another chapter and the epilogue or maybe two chapters with the epilogue in the last chapter, I do not know yet.

However, anyone who is despairing at the looming end, do not not fear, for their will be a sequel (x2) and although Norah will not be the main character, and hence it won't be in her perspective, she will be in it as well as Shay and their children, and Haytham of course. The only hint, it will be a ConnorxOC fic (. . .).

Also, another thanks to MohawkWoman for your review, as much as I would like to take credit for that humorous scene in the last chappie that you liked so much, I cannot for that actually did happen in the game, the credit is Ubisoft's, they do have a funny bone. And yes, it would be funny for me to write while under the table drunk, however, I will not be home for that, I will be at a friend's house. If I was going to be home though, I would have saved the epilogue to type during that time just for you. Thanks again :)

Seza, out

p.s. the name of the first sequel will be 'The Unnecessary Sense' hehehehe (don't ask me why I can think of a title for that one but not this one, I don't know why)


	9. 8: Over

Chapter 8: Over

September 23, 1781

In the days while we waited for Haytham to wake up, Connor introduced us to the other residents of the Homestead. I can honestly say; I had never met a nicer group of people. Aedan and Briana were fascinated by little baby Hunter; I had to remind them that they too were once that small. I found myself talking to Ellen and Prudence more often than not; getting advice from Ellen about raising teenagers, and in turn, we were both giving advice to Prudence about raising children. I was happy to see Shay getting along with the men; Connor included. I could tell from looking at him, that despite how many years he had been gone; this place was still familiar to him and it still felt like home.

Seeing that always reminds me of the day after we arrived here; when we finally questioned Achilles' absence. As it turned out, barely two weeks before our arrival; he had passed away silently in his room. I could see that Shay was pained by this; although there had been so much animosity between them, in the end, Shay had looked up to the Mentor he knew. It also hurt to know, that he never said goodbye; so the same day found us at Achilles' grave, saying our silent goodbyes. I knew Shay was also asking for forgiveness for everything that had happened.

Doctor White was hopeful that Haytham would wake up soon, and hence, today found me at his bedside. He looks a lot better than he did when we first arrived here and this made me thankful; he should be waking soon. However, being as injured as he had been and as unconscious as long as he had; his age was showing more now than ever. His grey hair more prominent and not to mention the wrinkles to his face gave it all away. I just hope that he will take up my suggestion; that we all retire from the life we had been living and settle into a peaceful life before we passed from this world.

It is at this moment that I see a twitch to his face and a slight movement from his hands. "Haytham? Are you waking up now?"

He slowly opens his eyes and tries to take in his surroundings, "N-Norah?"

"Aye, it is me. You gave me a right scare having Charles take me away like that."

He looks confused, he did not recognise where he was and not to mention, I do not think he expected to survive his encounter with Connor. "I'm alive? How can that be?"

I give him a gentle look; I can understand how confused he must be, "Aye, you are alive Haytham. Your son spared your life."

This seemed to surprise him; he clearly was not anticipating Connor sparing him, "What? But I felt the blow, I felt myself die. Wait, where are we?"

I knew that question would come eventually, "We are at the Davenport Homestead; Connor managed to bring you here to a Doctor he trusted. Shay and I did not know of you still being alive until two days after the attack when Connor sent me a letter. We came here immediately and have been waiting for you to wake up for a few days."

He let my words soak in before asking his next question, "How long have I been asleep?"

"About a week; he spared your life, but Connor gave you a good beating regardless. Probably why you thought you had died; in fact, Connor himself thought the same until he noticed you still breathe. It came crashing down on him that the man lying practically dead in front of him was his own father; when he noticed you were still alive, he did everything he could to see you get here in one piece so that Doctor White could help you," when Connor had told us this, I could see how much it truly scared him to think he may have killed his own father.

I do not think Haytham knew quite what to say to that and simply said, "I see."

It was not long before something else occurred to him, "Where is Charles?"

This was the conversation I was hoping to save for when he had healed more, but I suppose it could not be helped, "Haytham you need to listen to me and you need to do it without interrupting me."

The words seem to worry him somewhat, but he nodded for me to continue and so I did, "Charles still thinks you are dead and now that he has taken up your role; he has gone mad with power. He is angry all the time, he even frightened the children; so when Connor sent the letter, we made our way here with haste. We did not stop to tell Charles, as it is; I am afraid it is inevitable that Connor will get him."

I could see that this was making him angry, but I was not going to let him stop me from going on, "Haytham Kenway, listen to me," when he finally looked like he was settled, I went on, "The Colonial Rite is done. How old are you now Haytham? How old is Shay? You are in no condition to run anything anymore and most likely never will be. As it is, the Order consists of Charles and he is running what is left of the Templars into the ground with his madness. I know this will be hard for you to do, but I think it is time you stepped down and let things be. It hurts, but Connor will get Charles and none of us are capable of stopping him. When Charles is dead, what then? The Order be made up of a bed ridden Grand Master, an Assassin Hunter who does not hunt Assassins anymore, both of whom are too old to be anything more than a pain in an enemy's arse, and a Templar Informant who is done with all of this?"

I realised this was a lot to take in, especially in his condition, so I decided to let him be for now, "Get some rest, I will tell your son you woke up for a time and that you are resting again."

I did not wait for a reply before hastily leaving the room.

July 21, 1782

Time had flown by quickly, Haytham had healed up well, but despite this; I often find him brooding in the dining room. I sometimes see him staring at the portrait of Achilles with his wife, Abigail, and their son, Connor, hanging above the fire place. Was he thinking about everything that had happened? Was he silently talking about all of it with the unseen ghost of Achilles? I did not know, and I did not ask. I knew he was still thinking about the words I had said; it was nine months ago, but they were still heavy on his mind.

On the lighter side; Lance had built the four of us a house. It was a small, simple home, but enough room for the children to have their own rooms; something they truly appreciated. The days usually found them at Warren and Prudence's farm, helping to keep an eye on Hunter while giving the little fella someone to play with. Although we now had our own home, Connor has welcomed us to the manor whenever we wished, mostly because Haytham had permanently moved into Achilles' old room where he had been recovering. So on the days that we were not doing much, Shay and I would join Haytham at the manor, the two of them talking about whatever came to mind while I continued my knitting. Right now, I had stepped out the back for a little fresh air, when I noticed Connor out here as well, "What in the bloody hell are you doing to your hair?"

I startled him a little, and thankfully not enough to cut himself with the blade he was using to shave the sides of his head. "This is the way my people honour the dead, I do this in memory of Achilles. I should have done it a while ago, but did not get around to it."

I suppose that was fair enough, I am not too sure how Haytham will take to it however. "Very well lad, I am happy to see you keep up with the traditions of your people despite how long you have been away."

I think I might have pulled on one of his heart strings because he winced at that and I realised; he did not want to have been away so long, but had no choice. As he pulls his robes back on and re-equips all his weapons; I realise he is ready for a long trip. "You are going after Charles now lad, aren't you?"

He looks mildly shocked at how I could deduce that just from looking at him, "Yes, I think it is finally time I ended this."

I agreed, it would be nice to finally put this all to rest, "Then go lad, I will not tell your father until he notices your absence, give you time to get something done just in case he tries to intervene."

"Thank you Missus Cormac," I twitched.

"Connor, how many times have I told you, call me Norah. I used to love being called that, when I was younger and I liked to be reminded who it was I was married to. Although I still love being reminded about my marriage; I hate how old it now makes me feel, something I hate being reminded about."

This makes him chuckle slightly, I go over and give him a kiss on the cheek, something that surprises him, "Now you be careful out there lad, you hear me?"

He nods in reply before making his way to the stables to finally end his mission. I return inside to my knitting.

October 4, 1782

Funnily enough, it only took Haytham a few hours to notice his son's absence, and in the end, despite how angry he looked, he let it be. I admit I was mildly surprised, but I presume he must have taken my words to heart and realised; it was over. Connor had now been gone almost two months and I prayed that he was okay. At this moment, Haytham and Shay had taken a walk down to the docks to talk with Mister Faulkner; Shay had been overseeing the building of a second pier in the hopes that the Morrigan could be docked here as well. I myself was doing what I always am these days; knitting. I had run out of things to knit for my own family and had started knitting various articles of clothing for the other members of the Homestead. With the amount of snow we get here every winter, it would be greatly needed.

I pause in my work when I faintly hear running from outside slowly getting louder; sounded like it was getting closer to the door. I stand up and make my way over; just as I reach the door, someone knocks loudly on it. I quickly open the door to see a woman I do not recognise; however, she seems to recognise me. Her eyes widen before she has a blade to my throat. I am stunned before I am angry, "How dare you? What is the meaning of this?"

"What is a Templar doing here?"

Okay, who the bloody hell does she think she is? "Excuse me, for a start lass, I am and never have been a Templar, I was an _informant_. My husband was the Templar; I use past tense as he kind of no longer is. Secondly, I live here; not in this manor, but on this property. You have a lot of nerve knocking on this door and holding a blade to my throat. To hold a blade to an older woman who cannot fight and defend herself; where is your respect?"

She seemed to be shocked by both my words and the heat of my anger behind them, before she can reply, a third voice, a strangely pained one, speaks up behind her, "Dobby, what are you doing?"

I turn to face the voice, and I see Connor being basically carried by Dave up the path; and he was covered in blood. "Oh my god, Connor, what the hell happened to you?"

I rush over to him and see what can only be described as a hole in his side; it was filled with splinters and I can only guess that he was impaled by a large piece of timber. I hear a gasp from the side and see Aedan there, gawking at Connor and all the blood. "Aedan, I need you to run to Doctor White and tell him that Connor is injured," he seems not to hear my words in his shock. "Aedan Cormac, NOW."

He shakes off the shock before running back down the path to find Doctor White. I help Dave get Connor upstairs to his room while the woman, Dobby, continues to be confused by my presence and worried for Connor. Thankfully, it is not long before Aedan comes back with Doctor White. "Aedan, I need you to find your sister and make sure she doesn't try coming through here."

"Okay Ma," and he only lingers long enough to glimpse quickly at Connor before leaving again.

"Ladies, I think it best you leave for now, Connor will be fine once I get a good look at his wounds; you being here helps no one," and with those words, I leave Doctor White with Connor, and give Dobby a look to follow.

After a slight hesitation, she follows me out. I lead her downstairs to the dining room before I head into the kitchen to wet some tea. "Dobby was it? You clearly know who I am, it is only polite to tell me who you are; your real name that is."

"Deborah Carter is my full name, but I prefer to be called Dobby if you will," I nod my head at her in response, if that is what she wished. "I do not understand, last time I checked, you and your husband were our enemies."

Has she been living under a rock the past year? "Lass, we have not been Connor's enemies in over a year when he dragged his father's half dead body here to the Homestead. We followed and have stayed. So do not be surprised when you see the Templar Grand Master walking around here too."

This was when I remembered that the rest of the world thought Haytham Kenway was dead and I just ruined that illusion for her, "He's still alive? So Connor let him live?"

"Aye, that he did, couldn't quite bring himself to kill his own father; cannot really blame him though, can you?"

"I suppose that is true; Connor never told any of us that he was still alive, or that he had Templars, I mean, ex-Templars living on the Homestead," and this was when I realised something.

"You must be one of the Assassin recruits I have vaguely heard about," it could only make sense considering the way she was talking.

"Yes, I work in the North of New York, but that is why I know who you are, all of us that work in New York know who you are. Although, this certainly explains why you and your family up and disappeared a year ago. I did not quite think of this in the possibilities," and I suppose she would not, none of them would have.

"Aye, a few years ago, I would not have thought we would end up here either, but here we are," I am interrupted when I hear the front door open.

I turn to the doorway and in walk Shay and Haytham. They look shocked to see we have a visitor and give me a questioning look, "This is Miss Dobby gentlemen, she just lugged your heavily injured son home Haytham, I think you best go check on him."

Which he does without delay although I am not sure Doctor White would even let him in. I turn my attention back to Shay, "Love, Dobby is one of Connor's recruits who helps him in New York, we had quite the first meeting," I simply give her a wink, he need not know. "Dobby, this is my husband, Shay, but you already knew that."

We share a look, but Shay just looks confused. Let him be confused, we women like to have our secrets. We do not have a chance for many more words before Doctor White comes down the stairs, "You can go up now Norah, he is all patched up and will probably be sore for a number of months, but will heal in time."

"Thank you Lyle," and he nods his head before leaving the manor.

The three of us make our way up to Connor's room where Haytham is sitting by his bed. The boy looks a little worse for wear, but a lot better than when I saw him earlier. "How are you feeling lad?"

He looks in our direction, "A lot better, but it hurts when I move anything."

"As to be expected, you were pierced by a large piece of timber and if had splintered all through the wound," I am just incredibly happy that there is no infection.

He seems to hesitate before saying his next words, he looks at his father as he says them, "Charles Lee is dead."

I have to give Haytham credit; he doesn't flinch or show any outward sign that the words upset him. In the end, he has clearly come to terms with everything, "So it is truly over."

Haytham was neither happy nor unhappy as he said the words, but honestly, I was happy that it was finally over and we could have peace.

* * *

T_T guys, this is the last chapter, there will be an epilogue and it will definitely be longer than the prologue. Although, as I have said, there will be a sequel (x2) I just don't know when that will start coming out. Thanks guys for reading this fic, it means a lot when people read my work. Now, the epilogue probably won't come out until tomorrow as I'm going to the movies with my folks for the rest of the day today (although, for my American readers, it is probably like, early morning or even around midnight for you now since it is early afternoon here). Oh well, you get the point.

Also, I think I have a title for this fic, but I won't change it until the epilogue is up and this fic is switched to complete so as not to confuse you peeps on story alert.

Anyway, thanks again guys, (and thanks to my fingers who have worked so hard this week, how do I not have Carpal Tunnel lol?).

Seza, out

p.s. put your hands up if you got the South Park reference in this AN hehehe


	10. Epilogue: Unseeing Visitor

Epilogue: Unseeing Visitor

Early February, 1783

I am not entirely sure how we ended up in this position; we very much intended to retire from the never ending conflict between Templars and Assassins, but somehow, we were still involved despite how we were no longer part of the fight. As it was, Connor's Assassin recruits in Boston and New York knew how to fight, but they did not know what it was to be an Assassin. With the fight between the Orders very much done in the Colonies; Connor felt it time that his recruits were given the full training to become full Assassins. In order for this to be done, they needed more than one teacher. This was how we still became involved.

Although Connor oversaw the majority of their physical training, both Haytham and Shay had input; Connor was younger and physically able, but there is nothing that can contest the experience of seasoned fighters. Connor did the demonstrations and the mock fights; the elder men gave the wisdom and the advice. Besides this; Shay was in charge of teaching the recruits about sea-faring. He had been the Captain of the Morrigan for many years and he knew the ups and downs. It was only right that he be the one to teach them, even if their Mentor was a Captain himself. Haytham, being the most educated member, was in charge of the most basic of educations; Mathematics, English for those who needed it, and other such subjects.

What did I do? I was the History teacher. I do not mean the history of the world; no, I mean the history of the Templars and Assassins. Having spent so many years researching about the two Orders, I knew almost as much as any member of either Order. Not to mention, I remain neutral to this day; I can see both Orders from a distance. History fell to me because I was not biased, and not to mention, I did not know how to fight. Shay fell right back into the routine of being a member of the Assassin Order, even if we were not actually Assassins by title. Haytham, however, struggled, he had had basic Assassin training as a child, seeing as his father was an Assassin, but his beliefs were rooted so strongly with the Templars; that he still felt odd training Assassins.

The easiest way to convince him was by simply saying this; we are not and will never be Assassins, we are trainers and tutors, nothing more. We just hold the respect any high ranking Assassin would receive; we may not be Assassins, however, we were like the village elders, not there for the conflict, but deserving of respect none-the-less. This appeased Haytham very much. As it was, our age and knowledge meant that we had become somewhat like Connor's advisors; he was still young and always took any advice we gave to heart. Now was one such occasion that we found ourselves counseling the boy. "Are you sure it wise Connor? The recent conflict here has only just ended."

My words were true, it had only been months since he had killed Charles; his current ideas were too early. "That may be so, but if we spread the Order across the Colonies; it makes us stronger and less vulnerable for another Templar take over."

We knew why he wanted to do this, but we knew the consequences if he spread himself too thin. Haytham was the next to share his thoughts, "What happens when the Brotherhood is too large for you to manage? The Colonies are large, too large for a Brotherhood with one Mentor to grow. If the Assassins were to spread to cross the entire country, it would need two equal Mentors; one to watch over the affairs to the West and one for the East. Otherwise, being so spread out will make the Brotherhood vulnerable in your endeavour to make it not."

Connor could not deny the truth in his father's words, and hence, we were sitting in a silence, one that was interrupted by someone knocking at the door. "I will get it," and so I make my way to the door.

When I open the door, I can honestly say I am gobsmacked, although it is most obviously an Assassin at the door, she is not anyone I recognise. "May I help you lass?"

She cocks her head to the side slightly, my guess, getting used to my accent, "Oh, my apologies, my name is Mirela, I am an Assassin from England."

England, with the way she talks and her accent, I can tell. "That is quite a long journey to come all this way. What in god's name brought you here?"

She seems to hesitate before saying anything further, "Is the Mentor here?"

Okay, she does not fully trust me, understandable, "Aye, he is dear, if you come through here you can talk to him; we were just finishing a bit of a meeting."

"Thank you kindly," what a polite young girl, I lead her towards the dining room.

"Connor, you have a visitor, a sister from England," I could see that this peaked their interest, Haytham's especially.

"I see, it is a pleasure to meet you, my name is Connor," he pauses, "What can we help you with?"

"Ah yes, my name is Mirela and I came all this way with some dire news," she honestly looked worried to continue her words. "I had overheard a conversation between the current Templar Grand Master of the British Rite and a few of his higher ranking Templars; I am afraid that with the fall of the Colonial Rite, he plans on sending over far more Templars to the Colonies in order to stamp out the still recovering Colonial Assassin Brotherhood."

Well that is very bad news, Haytham seemed to have other things on his mind, "How can you be sure he will follow through with this, and he was not just saying those things because he knew you were eavesdropping."

I could tell the accusation made her slightly angry, "Because," and she hesitates with her next words, "because my father is a terrible man and I feel him fully capable of doing such a thing."

We had to pause and process the information, let me get his right; her father is the Grand Master? Well that sounded awfully familiar and my eyes unconsciously make their way to the two Kenways who both seemed to have the same thoughts as myself from the looks on their faces.

"Look I realise that saying that makes me more suspicious, my father being a Templar and all, but you need to trust me," oh she had no idea.

"Trust me lass, we are not unfamiliar with Templar Grand Masters producing Assassin offspring," and the way Shay had said those words had him receive two death glares from the said Grand Master and Assassin offspring.

She looked more shocked than anything; she clearly did not know much about her Colonial brothers. "You know what would make us trust you more? If you removed your hood."

Haytham's words made me realise that she did in fact, still have her hood up despite being in friendly territory. She hesitates slightly, before finally pulling her hood back; she has her eyes closed as she does this. I admired her beautiful features, features I wished I still had at my age; but when she opens her eyes again, we all breathe in quickly.

The girl is blind.

* * *

Waaaah, it's finished. Of course, I am mighty proud of myself, can't say I have ever completed a fanfiction in 5 days before. I want to thank everyone who has read my fic, it makes me very happy when you do.

Another shout out to MohawkWoman who continues to give me such kind reviews. I am glad you continue to enjoy my fic, my aim is to entertain. And yeah, I realised you hadn't played the game, hence I corrected for you :) I am glad you have some friends that have told you the basics and that you are able to understand what is happening from my writing. It's good you like Connor, will be seeing a lot more of him in the sequel (x2).

And response to the South Park episode, it's been a while since I watched the episode, what happened was, the boys were holed up in one of their basements (can't remember which) and they had four computers set up, they spent weeks playing nothing but World of Warcraft continuously. After a while, one of them (pretty sure it was Eric) got Carpal Tunnel (pressure on the nerves in your wrist which causes massive pain) from playing too long and he was like "Carpal Tunnel, Carpal Tunnel *hisshisshiss*". Hence my Carpal Tunnel comment hehehe

Anyway, thanks for reading guys and as for the sequel, no idea when that will come out, but I be giving you massive hint in this epilogue mwuahahahahaha *cough*cough*

Seza, out


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